The picturesque meadows and hills of Baisaran Valley turned into a pool of blood on April 22, when terrorists claimed the lives of 26 individuals—mostly tourists.
The attack has been labeled as “one of the deadliest attacks” in recent history. Soon after the incident, an avalanche of grief, doleful visuals, and horrific testimonies of eyewitnesses clambered out from the scene, leaving the nation aghast.
Media’s Polarized Lens
Media houses took the tone of their news depending on the outlook they chose to present. A few of them opted to exhibit, the religious identity of the victims along with social media witnessing the ocean of hashtags like #KashmirTerror and #PahalghamMassacre.
Some highlighted the historic context of the attack, while others expressed solidarity with victims, appealing for unified actions to eradicate terrorism. Opinion pieces suggested ‘strategic patience’ should not be the approach.
While Western media chose the words like “gunmen” or “militants,” gaining slamming from the Hindu American Foundation for “whitewashing” the terrorism.
However, as opined by Husain*, a Delhi-based Kashmiri journalist, “The media tried to fan the fire that has already been going on for a long time in the country.”
“Most of the media tried to push the Hindu-Muslim rhetoric and missed out on the security aspect,” he said while talking to FoEJ Media.
“If we go by the reports, we will see Kashmir has a lot of army, police, and all sorts of things. You name it, and we have it. Then how did this happen? That should be the question of media, which many missed to ask,” he added.
The consequences of this skewed narrative quickly manifested on the ground too. Innocent Kashmiris across the country became targets of misplaced anger and prejudice. Reports of vendors being assaulted and evicted, students facing harassment and expulsion, and taxi drivers refusing Kashmiri passengers paint a disturbing picture of collective punishment.
Hoorain* told Foej Media about how they constantly received texts like “Why do you Kashmiris do this…why can’t you live in peace?” making her fret for quite a significant period of time.
Meanwhile, Kashmiri locals expressed profound sorrow and unequivocally condemned the attack. Protests and moments of silence in Srinagar, Pulwama, and Pahalgam lamented a shared grief. Prominent cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq extended his condolences, emphasizing that Kashmir stood “shoulder to shoulder with the victims”. Heartwarming videos of Kashmiris offering aid to stranded tourists and the bravery of the late Syed Adil Hussain Shah, who sacrificed his life protecting tourists, showcased the enduring spirit of “Kashmiriyat” – a tradition of hospitality and communal harmony.
Retaliatory Violence and the Erosion of Justice
The tragedy in Baisaran tragically triggered retaliatory violence against the Muslim community in other parts of India. The cold-blooded murder of a restaurant worker in Agra, claimed as an act of revenge, and the axe attack on a young man in Uttar Pradesh, with the perpetrator explicitly citing the Pahalgam attack, are chilling examples of how easily grief can be manipulated into hate crimes. The communal tensions deliberately stoked during a protest in Jaipur, with offensive slogans and the desecration of a mosque, further highlights this dangerous trend.
The Anguish of the Bereaved
The families of the victims of the Pahalgam attack expressed deep grief and anguish. Some kins questioned the justice of collective punishment, with one family member asking why their entire family should suffer for the actions of one individual, highlighting the pain caused by security operations such as house demolitions and detentions following the attack.Following the Pahalgam terror attack in which her husband, Navy Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, was killed, Himanshi Narwal publicly urged people not to target Muslims and Kashmiris, calling instead for peace and justice. However, this message led to a wave of harsh criticism and hate on social media. Some users accused her of “Hindu Stockholm Syndrome” and questioned her loyalty, with comments suggesting she was influenced by government compensation or personal gain. Others attacked her demeanor, criticizing how she appeared composed and “not shocked” in videos after the attack, labeling her the “worst human” and doubting the authenticity of her grief. Some comments were deeply abusive, suggesting she should have been shot as well or accusing her of betraying her community by advocating against backlash on Muslims and Kashmiris.The Baisaran Valley massacre was not just a terrorist attack it was a mirror held up to the nation, revealing both the resilience of human spirit and the fragility of our social fabric. While the pain of the victims and their families deserves justice and remembrance, so too do the voices calling for unity over division, empathy over hate.
*The names have been changed for security reasons
