Delusional democracy? From Mumbai 26/11 to Pahalgam, India has entered the post-truth era
The India-Pakistan conflict in May left a deep chasm in the subcontinent. It also revealed a breakdown on both sides of the border on what constitutes fact and the truth.
This reflects an unprecedented polarisation of views, a retreat into echo chambers and a demonisation of the enemy that results in war being projected as the only solution to discord.
Propaganda during war and claiming crushing victories over the opponent are old strategies, of course.
On December 16, 1971, for instance, Pakistani President Yahya Khan, despite the crushing defeat by India in a conflict that resulted in his country being bifurcated, pledged “war till final victory”.
It was not surprising that Pakistan’s current army chief, General Asim Munir, declared victory in the recent conflict and promoted himself to the rank of field marshal despite several international observers and news reports asserting that India had gained an upper hand over Pakistan militarily.
However, strategically or politically neither side seems to have emerged with a conclusive advantage.
It is easy to understand why Pakistan, a smaller power that is effectively under military rule, is inhabiting a post-truth world – but India doing the same is not.
After all, India is a democracy, four times larger than Pakistan in size, seven times in population, 10 times in military spending and 11 times in...
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