FOR TODAY’S YOUTH, war seems like a distant event. But some of us remember well the horrors of 1962, 1971 and 1999. The moment the Union government announced safety drills, my mind wandered to those days of blackouts and black paper over window panes.
In the cover story, we look at Operation Sindoor, the thought that went into it and what could follow. The optics were beautifully managed, and I believe that it is as important as the operation itself. The briefing led by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stood out for the participation of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi of the Corps of Signals and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force. It was non-escalatory and offered enough for those who wanted to read between the lines.
The cover story was put together by Resident Editor R. Prasannan, Chief of Bureau Namrata Biji Ahuja, Senior Assistant Editors Pratul Sharma and Sanjib Kr Baruah, Senior Special Correspondent Tariq Bhat, Senior Correspondent Nirmal Jovial and Correspondent Badar Bashir. Expert voices include former DGP Anju Gupta, Commodore R.S. Vasan, Colonel Nilesh Kunwar and Group Captain R.K. Narang.
Local residents walk through the rubble of a building damaged by Indian missile attack in Muridke In Pakistan | AP
Against the backdrop of the recent cultural pact signed with the UK, and the upcoming free trade agreement, Senior Assistant Editor Sunil K. Thomas spoke to Lisa Nandy, the UK’s secretary of state for culture. “We’ve had a difficult decade where we left the European Union and tore ourselves apart over that decision,” Nandy said. “One of our missions is to reconnect Britain with the world.” She reassures our readers that the Keir Starmer government has its priorities straight.
Meanwhile, the British Royal Family’s favourite tea is facing an existential crisis, according to Photo Editor Salil Bera and Correspondent Niladry Sarkar. They write about how climate change, labour shortage and land rights issues have hit Darjeeling tea, the first flush of which is called the “champagne of teas”. Though first flush forms only 20 per cent of the total tea produced in the Darjeeling hills, it brings in 40 per cent of the revenue.
Another article you would love is the one on Alina Alam and MITTI Café by Deputy News Editor Susamma Joy Kurian. She writes about how a P. Sainath lecture at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, changed Alam’s outlook and birthed a café that generates sustainable employment for the differently abled.
Then there is Deputy Photo Editor Amey Suhas Mansabdar’s experience of how the residents of Velas beach, 200km south of Mumbai, went from eating eggs of Olive Ridley turtles to protecting them and building an economy around it.
Coming back to the cover, reminders of the 1971 war are still all around us. About 10km away from my office, a Hawker Sea Hawk stands on a concrete mount in Changampuzha Park. The inscription tells a story:
Sea Hawk (IN 172)
“A premier fighter aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm of the Indian Navy. This type saw service on board INS Vikrant from 1961 to 1978. During the 1971 war, they were the mainstay for the blockade in the Bay of Bengal and caused crippling damage to Pakistani armed forces by bombing Dhaka, Khulna and Chittagong in Bangladesh. Presented by the Indian Navy to the citizens of Kochi on December 4, 1999.”
A sister aircraft, the IN 174, is on display in my wife’s hometown, Thiruvananthapuram.