2025

* Victims of Hyper-Nationalism in India | Arup Kumar Sen
* The Patriarchy behind the naming of Indian Military’s Operation Sindur | Papri Sen Sri Raman
* Setback for Dissanayake

Letter to the Readers
After the April 2025 terror attack killing tourists in Pahalgam in Kashmir, Prime Minister Modi had signalled action against terrorists at a political rally in Bihar

[On May 7, 2025, the Government of India launched a military operation called ’Operation Sindoor’ targeting multiple locations inside neighbouring Pakistan]
I am Upset.
I am Angry.
I OBJECT.
Why would a bunch of 70-80-year-old men in government offices use the word

Not all wars are necessarily planned, or even intended by one or more sides. In a situation of already existing mistrust and suspicions, one hostile action can lead to a bigger response from the other country, followed by one more set of counter-responses and before you realize all the implications, the two countries are already drifting towards a high-risk war, a war that is almost certain to cause distress and destruction that will be many times higher than the original incident or even (…)

May 9, 2025
One of the saddest things about India

11th May, 2025
The Indian military action against the perpetrators of the heinous killings of the innocent citizens in Pahalgam on 22nd April has come to an end following the oral agreement between Pakistan and India. The Indian leadership described from the very beginning that its military operations were measured, non-escalatory and proportionate nd was aimed at the terrorists and their hideouts supported by the Pakistani military establishment under General Asif Munir, who has brought (…)

Introduction
India and Pakistan find themselves once again on the verge of a perilous clash. The rising tensions have propelled the subcontinent into unfamiliar territory, increasing the likelihood of a serious crisis as diplomatic channels are neglected and relations between the two countries deteriorate further. Both sides of the border exhibit a tendency towards war, influencing public sentiment regarding readiness for conflict. Additionally, religious extremism appears to foster a (…)

The basic premise of hyper-nationalism being nurtured by the Indian state under the current BJP regime is creation of suspected enemies, both internal and external. This is clearly visible in the wake of recent killings of the tourists in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025. The Statement issued by PUCL on April 25, 2025 in this context (incorporated in the last issue of Mainstream) drew our attention to it:

The 2025 Pahalgam attack was an attack on tourists by five armed militants near Pahalgam, in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in which 26 civilians were killed on 22 April.
The country is no doubt deeply anguished by the Pahalgam attack, but to understand the teleology behind this act, we need more than national grief and the war cry of retribution. If we search from a dispassionate perspective, we will find two particularly troubling aspects of this event: first, in peacetime (…)

Post-Pahalgam attack on 22 April 2025, BJP led NDA government has racheted up a war hysteria. A majority of the Parliamentary opposition has aquised by offering unconditional support to any steps that the government initiates to take to task the culprits and their ’patrons’. Thereby, the BJP led NDA has been given a carte blanche, at least in the domain of foreign policy viz., the liberty to decide upon the contuors of Indo-Pak relationship that could forefront a military option over (…)