Scribd
Upload
5 views

Democracy

The document critiques the Indian government's handling of military losses and the suppression of dissent, arguing that questioning the narrative is branded as treachery. It highlights the dangers of a managed narrative that prioritizes propaganda over truth, particularly in the context of military engagements with Pakistan. The author calls for a transparent and accountable democracy where citizens can freely seek the truth without fear of being labeled anti-national.

Uploaded by

Shailu K
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
5 views

Democracy

The document critiques the Indian government's handling of military losses and the suppression of dissent, arguing that questioning the narrative is branded as treachery. It highlights the dangers of a managed narrative that prioritizes propaganda over truth, particularly in the context of military engagements with Pakistan. The author calls for a transparent and accountable democracy where citizens can freely seek the truth without fear of being labeled anti-national.

Uploaded by

Shailu K
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

National Security or Narrative Control?

Is the Indian Government Hiding Military Losses?


Why Branding Truth-Seekers as Traitors?
By : Natraj V Shetty
Date 1/06/2025
"Democracy dies in darkness," goes the old saying. But in present-day India, democracy is
choking not in darkness, but under the cacophonous din of managed narratives, permitted
amnesia and stage-managed cyber lynchings. A perilous precedence is being established , one
where questioning, probing the truth, or even mourning the dead soldiers as an act of treachery is
labelled, not as patriotism, but as betrayal.
Recent developments surrounding India’s military engagement with Pakistan have laid bare a
troubling ecosystem of state secrecy, manipulated perception, and venomous suppression of
dissent. It begs an urgent, national question: Is our loyalty to the nation or to a narrative?

The Air War They Want Us to Forget


In a rare but revealing disclosure at Singapore's Shangri-La Dialogue 2024, India's Chief of
Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, openly acknowledged that India suffered "initial losses in
the air" in a high-stakes dogfight with Pakistan. While details were kept under wraps, he assured
that the Indian Air Force shot back with surgical targeting on Pakistani airbases on the 7th, 8th,
and 10th , well within enemy territory.
This recognition should have led to an adult national conversation on new warfare, risk,
readiness, and the price of defending the republic. What we witnessed, however, was a vicious
suppression of any voice willing to bring these realities to the light of day.
Those who peddle falsehoods and vociferously deny that India lost any fighter jets are living in a
delusional echo chamber. In any military engagement , especially one involving a volatile
adversary like Pakistan , collateral damage and operational losses are unfortunate, but inevitable,
part of the strategic equation. Precision strikes on terror infrastructure demand surgical accuracy
to minimize civilian casualties, and that remains the ethical distinction of India's military
doctrine.
But let's not romanticize war as a flawless video game. Every real-world operation, no matter
how justified or precise, carries a price and acknowledging that cost is not weakness, it’s
honesty.
To deny any losses and paint an immaculate picture is akin to claiming India won a cricket match
against Pakistan without losing a single wicket, while bowling them out for zero , a fantastical
narrative best left to fiction.
It’s high time we call out the willful ignorance and manufactured outrage on social media. Truth
may be inconvenient, even uncomfortable, but it is the cornerstone of credibility. Suppressing
facts to appease one’s biases only weakens the very ideals we claim to defend. Real patriotism
lies in standing up for facts, not fairy tales.

When Truth-Tellers Are Branded Traitors


Those peddling disinformation even "barking" denials that India lost not a single fighter jet, are
wilfully blind or disturbingly manipulable. War with a nuclear-armed neighbour like Pakistan has
the grim certainty of collateral damage, strategic losses and, yes, even losses.
Admitting this fact isn't cowardice , it's a badge of integrity patriotism. The precision-guided
airstrikes against terror camps required methodical planning to avoid civilian casualties. This was
no video game triumph. This was war.
But any Indian who attempts to speak about these nuanced realities runs the risk of being
labelled anti-national, jihadi sympathizer, or even worse, a traitor. What sort of democracy
muzzles its people for grieving its soldiers truthfully?
It's like saying India had defeated Pakistan in a cricket match without losing a wicket,
while Pakistan was bowled out for zero. Such fantasies may be comforting to hear, but they
belittle the sacrifice of those who serve and die in obscurity.

Following Pahalgam: The Nation Strikes, But the Nation Doesn't Ask
In the wake of the ruthless terror attack in Pahalgam, martyring Indian troops, India reacted with
unprecedented intensity , allegedly hitting seven terror camps in PoK and two in the heartland of
Pakistan, followed by targeted raids on enemy military installations.
These were acts of strategic masterstrokes. They needed to be made known to the public, debated
intelligently, and celebrated nationally.
But mainstream media servilely highlighted only the retaliation , without noting the pertinent
questions:
Were there any casualties on our side?
Was air superiority established to the hilt?
What was wrong with the first air strikes?
What were the corrective measures adopted?
When voices of reason like Dr. Subramanian Swamy or war heroes like Armyman Chavan
question such legitimate questions, they are not argued with , they are digitally lynched, tagged
and discredited.

The Price of Asking Questions: Social Media as a Courtroom


Today in India, to ask is to be damned.
Braving the government's military narrative immediately provokes a shower of abuse:
Anti-national
Pro-Pakistan agent
Congress stooge
Jihadi sympathizer
Toolkit gang
Urban Naxal
This is not healthy nationalism. This is conformity gone armed and disguised as patriotism.
Digital mobs, strengthened by political silence, swoop down like vultures on dissenters ,
doxxing them, harassing their families, and suppressing free thinking.
It is not debate. It is information autocracy shrouded in a tricolour filter.

Ladakh: Where Silence Speaks Loudest


The Galwan Valley face-off of 2020 is another dark page of selective amnesia. Satellite imagery
and unbiased sources attest that India has lost access to more than 4,066 sq km of strategic land
in Eastern Ladakh.
Yet government reports are nebulous, evasive, and conveniently non-committal. Ministers
indulge in platitudes of upholding "status quo" while retired military chiefs carry on about long-
term loss of territory.
Government is still holding secrecy to the factual position on the ground further repeatedly
avoided straight clear cut answers through RTI , Parliament and other recognised forums.
Are Indian citizens not mature enough to cope with the truth? Or is the truth simply too
inopportune for the optics?

Democracy or Propaganda? Pick.


We now have to face a menacing question:
Is patriotism determined by how many questions you don't ask?
Because when governments cover themselves behind nationalism to avoid questioning, the first
casualty is truth and the second, trust.
This has nothing to do with besmirching India's reputation. This is about safeguarding its
conscience. For a non-accountable democracy is no more than an illusion with polls.

The True Harm: Not to India's Reputation, But to Its Democratic Heart
The actual harm isn't foreign disinformation or cross-border propaganda. The existential harm is
in demonizing truth-sifters, strangulating debate, and letting government spin become the
substitute for fact-based clarity.
Today it is about an airstrike. Tomorrow it will be about vaccine failures, floods, earthquakes,
economic statistics, or intelligence failures. If citizens do not stand up for their right to inquire
today, they might find themselves losing the ability to ever ask again tomorrow.

In Conclusion: Let the Nation Rise, Not Just the Narrative


Let this be said loud and without apology:
It is not anti-national to seek the truth.
It is not anti-Hindu to question government actions.
It is not pro-Pakistan to lament our heroic soldiers and wonder what happened.
It is pro-democracy to insist on transparency, responsibility , accountability and explanations ,
particularly when it involves national security.
So the next time someone asks an awkward question , do not vitriol them. Listen. Respond.
Debate. Disagree. But do it respectfully, not with fury or rage.
Because in a true democracy, the people are not enemies. They are stakeholders ,
demanding answers.
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
‘George Orwell’

You might also like