Arthur Conan Doyle, in A Study in Scarlet, wrote that “It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.” He meant that forming conclusions without a full examination of facts distorts one’s ability to truly understand them. This insight seems particularly relevant in today’s increasingly reactive world, especially in the aftermath of the tragic events that unfolded on April 22, 2025.
On that day, the world awoke to the horrific images of a terrorist attack on a popular tourist destination in the Pahalgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. As is common in such incidents, Indian media was quick to claim that the digital footprints of the attackers led back to Pakistan. Electronic and social media soon turned into echo chambers—amplifying unverified claims and feeding a frenzy of blame that the attack was planned, perpetrated, and directed by Pakistan. In this haste to accuse, the entire notion of rationality was replaced by what can only be described as rash-nality.
What happened in the Pahalgam incident has spiraled into a media-fueled fiasco, largely because the Indian media echoed each other without questioning the basic facts. Critical details were overlooked. How did the assailants access an area known to have only a single entry route? Why has India’s vast security apparatus failed to track them down? And perhaps most significantly—how did the authorities so quickly conclude, almost immediately after the first bullet was fired, that Pakistan was behind the attack? If the Indian government possesses actionable evidence, it should be presented transparently rather than relying on speculative rhetoric.
Furthermore, the media’s assumption that “The Resistance Front,” which claimed responsibility for the attack, operates under Pakistani command, is uncritically accepted by both the press and public, without any verified links being established. In a population of over 1.4 billion, the lack of critical inquiry into such serious allegations reflects a dangerous tilt toward manufactured consensus over investigative integrity.
The timing of the incident cannot be divorced from the broader context of discontent in the valley. The people of Jammu and Kashmir had long been protesting the revocation of their special status under Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution. In response to this unrest, the Indian government—a nation that often projects itself as a beacon of versatility and pluralism—imposed a complete media and internet blackout in the region that lasted over 550 days making it the longest internet shutdown of an area throughout the world. This silence was then used to manufacture an image of peace. The calm being portrayed today by Indian media is credited to constitutional amendments; and a product of economic interventions and upward mobility that began following the actions of August 2019.
Not only does the media narrative suffer from factual gaps, but the practical measures taken by the Indian government in response—such as halting the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)—stand in contradiction to rational diplomacy. The chest-thumping by Indian media, celebrating this move, again reflects rash-nality, rather than strategic foresight.
In every such incident, the Indian media defaults to a binary narrative of “Good and Evil”, with India cast as the restrained, innocent victim. This oversimplification finds sympathetic ears globally, painting the Indian government in a light of moral righteousness. Meanwhile, YouTubers and freelance bloggers cash in on the spectacle, profiting from tragedy. With sensationalist footage spreading unchecked, the dignity of victim families is trampled upon across digital platforms by these vultures of the bandwidth.
What “happened” or “did not happen,” as claimed by media narratives, reflects the very nature of truth in our ‘post-truth’ era. The inability to establish common ground on facts in an increasingly polarized world should concern us all. Celebrities from media, sports, and entertainment spheres often jump onto the bandwagon of hyper-nationalism, abandoning the values of critical thinking and balanced discourse transforming the tragedy into”soap opera opinionated nonsense”.
Human societies have advanced through rationality and regressed through ignorance. When entire populations tilt toward rash-nationality, it inflicts deep wounds on the collective soul of humanity. In times of crisis, the greatest casualty is often truth. But in the current climate, truth is not just a victim—it is being willingly sacrificed at the altar of political expediency and media sensationalism. The subcontinent stands at a crossroads, where the choice is no longer between left or right, nationalism or opposition—it is between rationality and rash-nality.
The need of the hour is not louder voices, but wiser ones. Citizens, journalists, academics, and policymakers must commit to the pursuit of facts, transparency, and dialogue. We must unlearn our impulse to react and relearn the discipline of thinking. If we fail to do so, we risk turning every tragedy into theater, every headline into hysteria—and every opportunity for peace into a prelude to conflict.
Ertaan Siddiqui
“The writer is a regular columnist on social issues and can be reached at seer42.blog or via email at furian240@gmail.com.”