Mission Accomplished

There is a time for politics and a time for patriotism. After the gruesome Pahalgam massacre on April 22, where 26 innocent lives were snuffed out in a calculated act of terror, the Indian armed forces have been relentless in their reply. First, Operation Sindoor destroyed terror camps in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and within Pakistan itself, along with a devastating strike on Pakistan’s military capabilities. Now, three months after the massacre, the joint Operation Mahadev carried out by the Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF and the J&K Police,culminated in the elimination of three foreign Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives, including Hashim Musa, the alleged mastermind of the attack. The terrorists were literally caught napping in the Dachigam forests and swiftly neutralised. It was a textbook example of coordination, intelligence-led action and surgical decisiveness.

Operation Mahadev was the summation of strategy, signals intelligence (including intercepts from encrypted Chinese radios) and steely resolve. That it unfolded without collateral damage or strategic blowback is a testament to India’s growing sophistication in hybrid warfare. In its scale, symbolism and swiftness, Mahadev, like Sindoor, sent out a loud and clear message to the terror handlers in Pakistan that India will avenge its dead, come what may.

But even as the Indian Army went about its business after Pahalgam, the Congress Party led by its scions of sanctimony - Rahul Gandhi and Jairam Ramesh - chose to sharpen their knives not against Pakistan, but against their own government. Instead of hailing the precision of Operations Sindoor and Mahadev or the deft diplomacy of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, they demanded explanations, peddled doubts and amplified conspiracy theories that bore uncanny resemblance to those originating from Rawalpindi’s propaganda mills.

Gandhi, whose default instinct appears to be suspicion of his own country’s institutions, has consistently cast aspersions on Operation Sindoor. Were Rafales shot down? Was there a ceasefire under American pressure? These insinuation-laced questions keep coming even as Jaishankar has time and again denied any call from Donald Trump to Narendra Modi.

The irony is bitter. Even as the world rallied behind India, the Congress opted to parrot Pakistani talking points inside Parliament. What the Congress forgets is that democratic opposition should not come at the cost of national coherence during times of crisis. By constantly second-guessing the armed forces, indulging in innuendo and reinforcing enemy narratives, the party chips away at India’s strategic credibility.

The Modi government’s handling of Pahalgam’s aftermath has not been without flaws. But on the essential metrics, be it security, diplomacy and retaliation, it has been firm and effective. It suspended the Indus Waters Treaty mechanisms, closed the Attari border, revoked SAARC visa exemptions and delivered pinpoint justice to the attackers. And it did so while keeping escalation in check and retaining global goodwill.

India needs an opposition that asks tough questions but not one that stumbles into the role of an unwitting mouthpiece for hostile forces. In this case, the Congress failed both the test of loyalty and the test of judgment.