I’ve been reporting from the ground for five years. I’ve covered elections, protests, accidents, communal violence and the environment. I’ve waited outside police stations and hospitals, slept on station floors, travelled overnight to places that stop making headlines within a day. Still, this year felt heavier. Some assignments ended when the story was filed. Others didn’t.
After the Pahalgam attack in April, in which 22 civilians were killed, India carried out air strikes on the night of May 6–7, calling it Operation Sindoor. Around the same time, Indian television news went into overdrive. There were graphics, speculation, breathless claims. Mock drills announced by the government were turned into breaking news loops. Sirens played repeatedly on television, even in cities where nothing was happening.
