Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Terrified children, abandoned school bags, scattered books. Visuals that had sickened the nation barely a month earlier when a school came under attack in downtown Srinagar, have come back to haunt it anew. This time in Pulwama. For the Valley8217;s professional saboteurs of peace, targeting children has now become normalised. The attack comes as a reminder that the bestiality of these groups, claiming to fight for a lofty cause, is far from exhausted. Indeed it appears inexhaustible.
The widespread public anger the attack has aroused, not just in the state or nation, but the world over, should further isolate them. But for this to happen, New Delhi needs to exert itself much more than it has chosen to do thus far. It needs to convey the entire reality of Pulwama to the local people in all its brutality. The insinuation that the blast was caused by a bomb dropped from an aircraft has the potential of severely damaging the reputation of the security forces. This lie needs to be nailed before militant groups 8212; eager to fan popular disaffection at a time when a semblance of normalcy has returned to the Valley and anxious, too, to deflect any blame that may come in their direction 8212; ensure it becomes the incontrovertible 8220;truth8221;. Such a charge against the forces is of course patently absurd, all the more so since the blast also targeted a CRPF camp in the neighbourhood, but in volatile situations of great public grief and anger, rational explanations often lose out.
