In the wake of the tragic attack in Pahalgam, not a single Pakistani voice of conscience applauded the loss of innocent lives. There was no celebration, no nationalistic fanfare – only silence and sorrow for the human cost of violence. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but not all Indians hate Pakistanis, and not all Pakistanis hate Indians. That narrative is as lazy as it is dangerous. It’s easy to hate a faceless crowd, to otherize an entire population based on borders drawn by colonial powers or ideologies cemented by decades of misinformation. But it’s far more difficult and far more necessary to choose empathy over enmity. Yes, the recent attack on Pahalgam was tragic, brutal, and absolutely condemnable. But so are the attacks on Kashmir, Bahawalpur, and other border areas of Pakistan where innocent lives are lost in the name of strategic retaliation. Pain knows no passport. Blood doesn’t change color across the Line of Control. Children cry the same way whether born in Srinagar or Skardu, Jammu or Jhelum. In stark contrast, every time an attack occurs in Pakistan – whether in Bahawalpur, Karachi, or beyond – it is met with applause, jingoistic chants, and vile social media trends by Indian netizens and celebrities alike. This toxic imbalance of empathy is not just appalling; it is dehumanizing.
At the root of this dangerous climate is Narendra Modi, a man who has been whitewashed into a nationalist hero but whose hands remain stained with the blood of the innocent. The world may have conveniently forgotten his past, but we must not. Modi was once widely labelled as the “Butcher of Gujarat” for his alleged role in the 2002 riots that left over 1,000 Muslims dead. Multiple investigations and eyewitness reports pointed fingers at his administration for turning a blind eye – or worse, enabling the massacre under the guise of retaliatory violence. So grave were the accusations that the United States denied him a visa for years. Yet, here we are, with the same man at the helm of the world’s largest democracy, not just rewriting history, but reshaping present-day narratives through media manipulation, warmongering, and outright lies. It is no coincidence that violent tensions rise around Indian election seasons. Just before every vote, there’s always a distraction, a border clash, or a so-called “surgical strike.” Whether it’s Pulwama or the recent drama around fabricated claims of attacks on the Karachi port, the pattern is too clear to be dismissed. These are not acts of defense; they are acts of political theatre – bloody, costly, and criminal. The recent Operation Sindoor, cheered blindly by Indian media and endorsed by Bollywood stars, is just another act in this scripted farce.
Bollywood – the very industry that has enjoyed decades of love and patronage from Pakistani fans – is now an echo chamber of war chants. Akshay Kumar, Anushka Sharma, Kangana Ranaut, and many others rushed to social media to glorify an attack on Pakistan, ignoring the horrific possibility of civilian casualties. They did not stop to question facts or consider the moral cost of their nationalism. Their silence on Modi’s human rights record and complicity in Muslim persecution screams louder than any of their movie roles ever could. From song lyrics that once promoted peace and cross-border love, these celebrities have devolved into mouthpieces for aggression, mirroring a state apparatus that thrives on division. This belligerence is further amplified by Indian media, now no more than an extension of Modi’s propaganda machine. Wild claims of drone attacks on Karachi and fabricated footage of bombings spread like wildfire, only to be exposed as baseless. But by then, the damage is done. Truth becomes a casualty, peace becomes impossible, and the average citizen is fed on lies. What’s worse is that this machinery not only distorts facts – it demonizes an entire nation and its people. Such lies have consequences: they foment hatred, endanger lives, and push South Asia ever closer to the edge of war. All of this – Bollywood’s compliance, the media’s deception, and the public’s blind nationalism-stems from one man’s hunger for power. Narendra Modi is not a man of peace. He is not a credible leader, nor an ethical politician. He is a master manipulator who has built his political career by pitting communities against each other, by leveraging bloodshed for ballots. His past in Gujarat was a warning. His present is proof. And if unchecked, his future may be catastrophic for the entire region.
Pakistanis are not terrorists – they are among the biggest victims of terrorism the modern world has ever seen. From the tragic APS massacre where more than 130 schoolchildren were slaughtered in cold blood, to decades of bombings in mosques, markets, and public gatherings, this nation has bled endlessly, yet remained resilient. Since 1947, Pakistan has faced waves of terrorism – both internal and externally fueled – not just with courage, but with a deep yearning for peace. It is time for both Indians and Pakistanis to wake up to a truth long buried under propaganda: our real enemy is not each other, but the systems that profit from our division. We, the people, are being fed venom daily – venom that turns neighbors into enemies, shared pain into distant contempt, and humanity into hostility. But hatred is not our nature. We were one people, once, not just through borders but through culture, heritage, and language. And now we are torn – not by choice, but by design. This design benefits only the powerful, never the people. Until we reject the hatred that is served to us like a daily meal, and remember that the blood in our veins is not so different, peace will remain hostage to the lies we’ve been conditioned to believe. The enemy sits in high places, not across borders – and the sooner we realize this, the louder our united call for peace will echo.
At this dark juncture, we must call for peace – not as an act of submission, but as a moral stance against orchestrated chaos. True patriotism lies not in warmongering but in humanity, in protecting life rather than cheering its destruction. The people of Pakistan have shown restraint. They have not cheered the deaths of others. It is time for Indian citizens, celebrities, and intellectuals to show the same maturity. The region cannot afford another war fueled by electoral ambitions. Let us reject the politics of hate, expose the architects of misinformation, and demand accountability from those who treat human lives as collateral damage in their race to retain power. Wake up. Sense needs to prevail – urgently and fiercely. The time to see through the fog of political vendettas and divisive propaganda is now. Let us not become the foot soldiers of failed leaderships and colonial mindsets that still profit from our pain and polarization. The idea of coexistence should not be foreign to us. It should not be revolutionary to ask for peace, for harmony, for humanity. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to stop finding comfort in bloodshed. We need to unlearn the belief that peace is weakness and that war is glory. We must stop equating strength with the ability to destroy and start equating it with the courage to protect – even if that protection is for someone we’ve been taught to call our enemy.
This madness has to end. Now.
Not tomorrow. Not after another round of shelling or another funeral of a teenager who had nothing to do with your politics. Right here, right now – let’s refuse to escalate. Let’s stop applauding hate. Let’s bury our egos before we bury more bodies.
The truth is, peace isn’t passive. It is the most defiant, most powerful stance we can take in a world addicted to violence. And in these crucial times of war, let this message be loud and clear: We stand with the truth and we stand for peace.
