‘We don’t want war’: Amid public endorsement for strikes, some Indians are worried

On Wednesday morning, several hours after India launched Operation Sindoor against targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, Mudra Singhe made her way through an unseasonal rain shower to a civil defence drill in South Mumbai.

A volunteer with the National Cadet Corps, the 19-year-old said the session taught her “how to carry out a rescue from a building, either by rappelling or by lying flat and proceeding”.

Kavita Mulge, another member of the young wing of the Indian armed forces, said she found it difficult to “follow and understand everything under heavy rains”. But she appreciated the lessons. “Such drills prepare us for any eventuality,” she said.

However, the prospect of a war had some commuters worried as they made their way to work.

Shivani Tripathi, who works with a private consulting firm in Mumbai, said she believed it was important for India to “send a clear message that terrorism won’t be tolerated”. India has said the strikes were launched in response to last month’s Pahalgam terror attack which had claimed 26 lives.

But she added that she was anxious “about how this could spiral into something much more serious”.

“The thought of it escalating into a war like situation is deeply worrying, not just for the potential loss of lives, but...

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