May 05, 2025

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MAKING PAKISTAN PAY

Vinay Narwal, a 26-year-old lieu- tenant in the Indian Navy, and his wife, Himanshi, had been really look- ing forward to their dream honeymoon in idyllic Pahalgam after they failed to get a visa for Switzerland. They had flown into Kashmir soon after their wedding reception in Karnal, Haryana. The next day, on April 22, they joined hundreds of other tourists to visit the alpine meadows of Baisaran. "We never thought this trip would turn into a nightmare," recounted a dazed and teary-eyed Himanshi, her hands still adorned with henna and the bridal chura (bangles). "I was eating bhelpuri with my husband," she is heard telling locals in a video. "A man came over and asked my husband if he was Muslim. When he said no, the man shot him dead." Screams filled the meadow as 26 human lives were taken with that same suddenness, on that merest pretext, in the space of a few unending minutes. Soon after, a photographer captured the distraught Himanshi seated beside her slain husband with blood stains on her clothes, framing the horror for a nation. The next day, when Vinay's body was flown to his hometown for cremation, Himanshi broke down before his coffin, draped in the national flag. "I pray that his soul is in peace, and he has the best time wherever he is," she managed to say through her tearsThese haunting, heart-wrenching scenes played out across the country as the coffins of the others slain in the Pahalgam attack came home for their last rites. The bru- tal killing of innocent tourists in Kashmir, the worst terror attack on civilians in the Valley in over two decades, forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cut short his official visit to Saudi Arabia and return to New Delhi. But not before posting a stern message on X: "Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice...they will not be spared! Their evil agenda will never succeed." On his return, the prime minister immediately convened a session of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which included home min- ister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. They were briefed about the cross-border link- ages of the terror attack with Pakistan. THE INDIAN COUNTER The question then arose of what was to be done. A range of steps presented themselves as options before New Delhi-- and each may finally find its own time and space. As an instantaneous punitive measure, foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that the CCS had decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 with immediate effect, until, as he put it, "Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism." The 65-yearold treaty, which has survived four wars between the two countries, allots the eastern rivers of the Indus system--the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi--for India's unrestricted use. Pakistan receives much of the waters from the western rivers--the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. The treaty decrees that any move by New Delhi to alter the flow of the rivers through dams or other means needs to be negotiated with IslamabadIndia had threatened to revoke the IWT after the 2019 Pulwama attacks as well, but stopped short of executing the threat. It did reiterate its intention to do so in September 2024, though, when it sought a "review and modification" of the treaty. However, by suspending the treaty now, with stringent clauses for reinstatement, India is shutting the door completely. The move holds serious implications for Pakistan's water security, especially in the populous and politically powerful provinces of Punjab and Sindh. While the

RISE OF THE VEGGIELANTES

Tucked into the bustling lanes of College Street in Kolkata is an unassuming meat shop that old-timers say is more than a hundred years old. Inside it sits an idol of Maa Kali, the fierce and beloved goddess of Bengal. Each morning, she is propitiated with flowers, incense and chants; later in the day, she presides over business--the fresh mutton and other cuts sold over the counter. Outsiders may find this form of `Kasai Kali' jarring but, for Bengalis, it's a seamless expression of faith and co-existence. As Bantu Singh, a shop fixture now, explains, "People don't understand our culture. When videos of our shop were posted online, many asked, `How can there be an idol in a meat shop?' It's hard to explain to them." But that which needs no explanation within Bengal--a riverine civilisation that has long celebrated its fish, meat and goddesses--is increasingly coming under scrutiny outside it. A recent incident in New Delhi's Chittaranjan Park, a predominantly Bengali locality, has ignited a fierce debate over culture, food and faith. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra put out a video on social media showing a group of saffron-clad men confronting fish vendors near a Kali temple, telling them that selling fish near a place of worship was an affront to `sanatan dharma'Moitra condemned the incident, calling the individuals "BJP goons" and accusing them of imposing a homogenised cultural norm alien to Bengal's ethos. "Never in 60 years (of CR Park) has this happened," she commented below the video before wading into how food habits are now being policed by right-wing elementsThe ruling BJP, however, rejected Moitra's allegations. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva called the video "fake and manipulated", and accused Moitra of attempting to sow disharmony. He also demanded a police investigation into the video's "authenticity"The Bengali residents of CR Park, though, say that such confrontations are becoming common, with reprobate elements even issuing warnings against eating meat and fish during Navratri. Notably, the fish market in the video falls under Market No. 1 in CR Park, and the adjacent temple was built by the market's shopkeepers--including the many fishmongers themselves! Food as Battleground The CR Park incident is part of a broader trend across states where food habits--especially those involving meat and fish--are being dragged into the domain of identity politics. Large sections of forward castes, especially in the north of the country, have traditionally looked down on meat-eating and considered it `impure'. However, despite these ham-handed attempts to impose cultural mores, India remains a largely non-vegetarian nation. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-21, 83.4 per cent of men and 70.6 per cent of women in the 15-49 age group are non-vegetarians. Indeed, the corresponding numbers for `pure vegetarians' were just 16.6 per cent and 29.4 per cent, respectivelyThe fault lines stem from caste-based orthodoxy and manifests in thinly-disguised dog-whistling against minorities. Mumbai, once known as a melting pot and exemplar of cosmopolitanism, is a prime example where you could be denied accommodation in parts of the city if you are a meat-eater. The gentrification of Mumbai--with its soaring skyline and real estate prices--and the rise of gated