New Delhi, May 7 -- From Phalagam to Operation Sindoor: On the 22 of April, my typewriter clacked with urgency as I endeavoured to report the tragic demise of 26 people in the resplendent Baisaran Valley of Pahalgam. The clatter of the keys became a constant companion, as the already fragile diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan, which had been teetering since 1947, plummeted into an ever-deepening abyss over the course of the following fifteen days, culminating in the execution of Operation Sindoor.

As dawn broke on the 7 of May, India responded with a measured sense of closure. The country witnessed a surge of public support for the government, following the announcement of Operation Sindoor. Families of the victims of the Pahalga...