Notes on Pahalgam

Massacre, manufactured memory, and the machinery of hate

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Suchitra Vijayan
Apr 25, 2025
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On April 22, 2025, a handful of unidentified gunmen opened fire on Indian and Nepali tourists in Baisaran Meadow, a hilltop clearing above Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir. In under fifteen minutes, twenty-six men were dead, seventeen others wounded, and what followed was not just a valley in mourning —but a rapidly metastasizing crisis of truth, accountability, and state-led spectacle.

Four days later, we still don’t have answers—just a swelling of anger without clarity.

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  • How many attackers were there?

  • How did they reach one of the most heavily militarised zones?

  • Why was there no security response during the massacre?

  • Where is the forensic evidence? The footage? The names that match the faces?

There have been no arrests. No official timeline. No verified confirmations.
But the state and its media machinery have already written the ending.

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