It's been over a year since the terrorists took the lives of 26 civilians, mostly Hindu tourists, shooting them down from point blank range in front of their families and children in a dastardly attack in Pahalgam.
The incident flared up the situation between New Delhi and Islamabad to its worst since the 1999 Kargil War, dragging the two countries into a full-scale war. Though the cowardly Uri and Pulwama terrorist attacks in 2016 and 2019, had also made India take a kinetic action, penetrating deep into the enemy’s land, and neutralising the terrorists and their bases through land and air routes respectively, these situations hadn't brought the two countries at the edge of a nuclear catastrophe as this time.
Immediately after the attack, as a non-kinetic action, New Delhi suspended the Indus Water Treaty, putting the 1960 water sharing pact in abeyance. A year later today, the treaty still stands suspended, with only the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) knowing for how long.
In another scathing response, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi chalking down a strict red line and issuing a sharp ultimatum against any act of terror in the future, and the country redefining its long-standing defence doctrine from ‘strategic restraint’ to a more assertive ‘proactive deterrence’, India stands resolute than ever before to actively combat cross-border terrorism.
Indian Air Force has time and again proved its mettle, grounding the enemy's jets, attacking the military assets, and neutralising terrorist hideouts, the May 2025 war, yet again, proved their pinpointed accuracy and remarkable ability to shield the Indian skies from the enemy's F16s and Turkish-made Kamikaze drones.
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| Image: AI |
Indian Army, providing the ground & logistics support, targeting the enemy’s border infrastructure, defending the LoC vicinity regions, and averting any terrorist infiltration, also proved to be a formidable force standing guard against evil intentions of the enemy.
The mighty powerful Indian Navy, creating a strategic naval blockade with the deployment of the Vikrant Carrier Battle Group (CBG) and maintaining an offensive posture with forward patrolling and live-firing drills, further overpowered the enemy, without even directly getting involved in the war.
Despite having such ever powerful and high-spirited defence forces, the broader equations for New Delhi, however, appear challenging. With Pak sitting in the big daddy, Washington's lap as an obedient kid in a purely transactional manner, Saudi Arabia signing a defence pact with Islamabad (with Turkiye and Qatar probably next in the line), and the global power China officially accepting its massive back-end support to the country during the Op Sindoor, the future beholds a riskful scenario for India.
Considering the challenges, New Delhi, in any case, can't afford to go complacent in its preparations, to not only deter the misadventures of the hostile western neighbour, but also give a steadfast, measured response in case of any misstep.
In addition to strengthening the defence capabilities and infrastructure, filling in the critical vacancies across all levels, acquiring the essential weapons and advanced defence tech & systems, and heavily investing in the military intelligence & surveillance, India shouldn't do the mistake of underestimating the enemy; not in terms of its military prowess per se, but its unfortunate expertise in siding with the global superpowers, floating self-favorable narratives, and nurturing terror groups.