The army can fight an enemy. Who will fight the trolls?

These shadows are pregnant with questions. Indian history is littered with stories bearing testimony to such questions that have been ignored for centuries. From 326 BCE (Alexander’s invasion of North India) to 1962 (China’s infamous aggression on Indian soil), foreign invaders had kept winning, killing our people and usurping our resources. In the light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s uncompromising policies and bold actions, we should now make a concerted effort to bridge the gap between courageous action and strategic success once for all.

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Remember, we successfully divided Pakistan into two nations in 1971. Twenty-eight years later, on the freezing heights of Kargil, we stunned the world by defeating the Pakistan army in a brilliant and exceptional display of mountain warfare abilities. But it did little to stop terror or terrorist activities. This is why Modi has made a paradigm shift with “Operation Sindoor". Now, every terror attack would be deemed as an act of war against India, and while acting against Pakistan, we will not be deterred by its nuclear blackmail.

Another critical milestone is that New Delhi has steadily escalated the velocity and pressure between surgical strikes and Operation Sindoor. Western nations trying to mediate, deeming it as a confrontation between two nuclear-armed nations, should focus their energies on taming Pakistan’s terror factory. If a Pahalgam-type incident is repeated, its consequences can be far worse. Regrettably, while the entire nation stood behind the prime minister, some people chose to play spoilsport.

Let me share some embarrassing examples.

During the days of the operation, Colonel Sofia Qureshi was briefing the media daily. It was a wise decision on the part of the Modi administration to send a message to the world that the entire 1.4 billion people were standing firmly together. At such a time, Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah’s repugnant comment appeared in the media. He made an indecent comment on her, though obliquely. His act not only hurt the entire nation but created a fear that India’s enemies would exploit it mercilessly. The BJP brass’ intervention forced him to tender an apology, but the impact of his misdemeanour is far-reaching.

Also read | Pahalgam should be handled with a firm, wise hand

Similarly, comments made against Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi during his India visit by a retired major who calls himself a staunch nationalist, forced Indian diplomats to do some firefighting after Iran took note of the comments.

Even foreign secretary Vikram Misri and his family were openly threatened by so-called nationalists and he also became a target of trolls. Himanshi Narwal, whose husband Lt Vinay Narwal was killed by terrorists in Pahalgam, too, was a target of online verbal attacks. All she said was that our fight is against terrorism and not Muslims. There are thousands like Himanshi, Col. Qureshi, and foreign secretary Misri who were targeted by the troll army. Our armed forces can fight an external enemy, but who will take on these trolls?

Let’s go back to the borders once again. During the operation, while retaliating, Pakistan used many Chinese weapons. The claims of their effectiveness were highly exaggerated, yet security experts insist the Chinese armaments pose new challenges, especially with China planning to export new-generation weapons to Pakistan. During the conflict, China openly sided with Pakistan, complicating the strategic equations for India. On the north-eastern borders, we have their armies and on the western borders, their weapons. Immediately after the ceasefire, news came in that China had changed the names of many villages, hamlets, and towns in Arunachal Pradesh. The ruling establishment in Beijing has been indulging in such unwanted acts since 2017. But what was the need to go ahead with this when tempers were running high between India and Pakistan?

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You must remember that two of our former defence ministers, George Fernandes and Mulayam Singh Yadav, used to categorically state that China is the real danger for India. At that time, people brushed their fears aside, calling it socialist paranoia. However, did they really exaggerate the threat?

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.