In the Indian imagination, war has never been just a clash of armies or nations. It is part of a larger cycle — where destruction and renewal are inseparable, where endings make way for new beginnings. Every civilisation that endures learns this the hard way. What is broken must one day be gathered, and what is lost must be remembered — not as nostalgia, but as responsibility.

The war with Pakistan, provoked by yet another cross-border terror attack, was answered with restraint and resolve by our armed forces. Tactical gains were made, strategic signals delivered. Yet, the silence that followed from the global community was unmistakable. No major power stood up to affirm India’s sovereign right to defend itself. This silence is not unfamiliar, but it is no less troubling. To equate our measured response to Pakistan-backed terror with the original act of aggression is both intellectually dishonest and morally indefensible. Yet, in the grand theatre of global diplomacy, such clarity was absent.

While soldiers secured the borders, another conflict unfolded at home — on television screens and social media platforms. Journalism, which should have been a beacon of truth, turned into a theatre of........

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