The lesson of 26/11 for all who love India: if secularists exhibit weakness, voters will hire sectarian strongmen. The dismal failure of Manmohan Singh to respond with resolve to the horrific siege of Mumbai helped pave the way for the rise of Narendra Modi.

Singh spent the first anniversary of the worst terrorist atrocity on Indian soil in the 21st century touring America. He took Indians for granted. And when Modi looked insurmountable, Singh's government did the quintessentially cowardly thing: it hanged a Kashmiri to look tough.

Kashmiris have become accustomed to being singed by the rage of Indian secularists who, too craven to do anything about the true sponsors of terrorism next door, end up always directing their fury at defenceless people they claim as their compatriots.

Alas, secularists have learnt nothing. As I wrote here, twelve years after 26/11, "the self-wounding belief that India can soften with dialogue forces for whom India's destruction is a religious imperative remains pervasive" https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-view/why-is-india-so-mindful-of-protocols/story-kRhMaCNcLUlJrXyPJ2nzAP.html