These days, when wars break out, it's not only the fighting that commands the headlines – but there's also a battle of narratives between the warring parties.
Following the Pahalgam attack – refer my post "Kashmir Flare-up" published May 08, 2025 – India launched Operation Sindoor to punish Pakistan. [Of course, the latter was obliged to retaliate with Operation Bunyan al-Marsus but I think it was a muted response]. The Indian government's PR machine went into overdrive and unashamedly, their mainstream media participated as well with frenzied calls for the total obliteration of Pakistan. War fever gripped the governing BJP’s fan base, their supporters believing that a decisive battle against Pakistan had been launched and its fall was imminent.
Predictably, India's military "successes" made it to the country's front pages, some of the bombast is detailed here:
The Economic Times on Friday shared that amid viral claims of Indian Navy's INS Vikrant launching attacks on Karachi port, a tweet posted by the official handle of the Karachi Port Trust on Thursday 'confirmed' that the port had sustained significant damage.
On the same day, The New Indian Express citing the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Armed Forces informed that Pakistan violated Indian airspace on May 08–09 when 300 to 400 Turkish drones with civilian planes as cover hit 36 sites, some of them religious centers.
The Hindu on Sunday blasted out their top news of the day: Over 100 terrorists killed during Operation Sindoor.
India even brought out military historian and aviation analyst Tom Cooper – talking to India Today, as reported yesterday – trumpeted that India was the clear winner. He said that the more he followed the news and social media, from the evening of May 07 till May 09, it was plainly obvious that Pakistan was losing. And losing badly.
[Note: I don't know if the above are all factual but they were declared as such. I doubt it because surely, we know that mainstream Indian media is notorious for jingoism, hyperbole and sensationalism].
Fortunately, things did not escalate further. On Saturday evening, a truce between India and Pakistan was declared by US President Donald Trump(!). He contended that the US-mediated ceasefire between the two countries came about in part because he had offered possible trade concessions. As per US media.
India dismissed US involvement and disputed Trump's claim. It maintained that it was Pakistan that first reached out to India’s head of military operations on Saturday for a ceasefire, and it was the said country that had called on the global community, including the US, for help.
Still, India – and Pakistan too – proclaimed the ceasefire as a victory, fuelling a surge of nationalistic fervor. [I do believe Pakistan has had military successes too but you don't get to hear about them. Well, except the 5 Indian jets that were shot down, as per my May 08 post].
What's more, he stated that the Indian army had only “paused” military action and Operation Sindoor had, in fact, not ended.
Modi’s speech was not meant to reassure the Indian citizenry that his government can guarantee their safety or security and that he is seeking peace and stability. Instead, it was meant to warn that the country is now in a permanent warlike situation.
Methinks, this conflict shows that a populist leader like Modi poses a grave risk, not only to 1.4 billion Indians but to the entire region. Trigger-happy Modi’s delusional vision of an “invincible” India, capable of militarily dominating its neighbor, nearly brought South Asia to the brink of nuclear war.
I get a strong impression that global media is portraying Pakistan more positively than India. And I'm sorry to say that the world isn't buying into India's bombast.
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