Jammu and Kashmir

India has witnessed multiple waves of terrorism since 1945, shaped by both internal and external factors. In recent history, Operation Sindoor, a tactful military response launched in May 2025 following the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam points out a figurative shift in India’s counter-terrorism policy. This paper situates the operation within broader terrorism theory, evaluates India’s evolving security strategy, and interrogates the legal, political, and ethical dimensions, multilateral approach, to understand state responses to terrorism. By analyzing the integration of indigenous defense technologies and the synergy between military action and diplomatic engagement, this study interprets Operation Sindoor not merely as a tactical event but as a symbolic and structural transformation in India’s counter-terrorism posture. It argues that India has successfully transitioned toward a “dual-track” strategy that seamlessly blends hard-power deterrence with assertive multilateralism, underpinned by an indigenous ecosystem that ensures strategic autonomy.

This paper looks into the significant role played by pilgrimages in the temple economy of Jammu and Kashmir. There have been many scholarly writings on the subject, but most of them deal with the temples in the southern part of India. The temples, pilgrimage of Jammu and Kashmir and their economic significance were never examined in the historiography. The reason cited for this may be the paucity of sources; the epigraphic records which are available for temples in southern India are not available for temples in Jammu and Kashmir. This study is an attempt to add to existing literature and the study relies on the Kalhana’s Rājataranginī, regional histories and colonial records.