India, May 5 -- For years, India was asked to turn grief into restraint. After Pahalgam, it turned grief into consequence. Families had been shattered before. The nation had mourned before. Television studios had been filled with anger before. Leaders had condemned before. Foreign governments had sympathised before, and then, almost in the same breath, urged India to show restraint. A few days later, the world would move on. India would be expected to carry its grief with dignity.

In May 2025, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India broke that script.

Operation Sindoor matters because it sent a message. The old cycle had become intolerable. Cross-border terrorism could no longer remain a low-cost instrument for those who planned, fina...