Hafta 536: War drums and fake news with India-Pakistan tensions

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by retired Brigadier Kuldip Singh.

In this tense news week, we begin by dissecting India’s Operation Sindoor and strikes on terror camps in Pakistan on May 7. “Neither side, particularly India, wants a full-scale war,” says Brigadier Singh, referring to past confrontations like the Uri and Balakot strikes. He adds, “This time, the strike is far greater in intensity and in the number of targets.”  

Jayashree, acknowledging public sentiment but questioning the nature of response, says, “What we’re seeing right now feels more like muscle-flexing.”

Shardool highlights how the United States and Western nations are responding differently to the current crisis compared to earlier years. “The U.S. is far less interested now…One reason is that they don’t need Pakistan the way they did before.”

Manisha points out that Operation Sindoor marks a shift in the Indian government's stance. She says what it signals is that the government “now has a clear intention: to state unambiguously that Pakistan is the enemy”.

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions 

00:05:03 – Headlines 

00:13:25 - Operation Sindoor and escalating tensions between India and Pakistan

00:48:22 – Brig. Kuldip’s recommendations

01:29:40 – Letters

01:42:25– Recommendations

Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand. 

Production assistance by Tista Roy Chowdhury.

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