Costs of a semi-war, and keeping hope
I have barely slept in the last 48 hours. There is a semi-war going on, escalating every passing day. But honestly, I am not scared or anxious. Why am I not scared yet? Maybe, it's either India's multi-layered air defence system or my usual middle-class irrational optimism. Kuch nahi hoga (Everything will be alright).
I am sleep-deprived. Following conflict from far, but not far enough, is a new experience for me. During the Kargil war in 1999, the internet and I were both young — not many memory bookmarks, nothing to scroll. But, war in current times is a unique cocktail of humour and tragedy. This is the first time we have missiles and memes together. Taking turns to reach us from across the border.
Following such a war evokes a spectrum of feelings. Fear at one end and thrill at the other; which side of the spectrum you are on depends on how close your family is to the border. I am in Gurgaon, with my parents in Lucknow. But I know a girl who works in Delhi, whose parents are living in Jammu. She broke into tears the moment her first call didn't go through to her parents. Even semi-wars are tough.
You also learn about missiles, jets, drones, and air defence systems. You learn it is actually a sales-exhibition of military hardware, for defence manufacturers to show to the presidents, oligarchs, dictators, drug dealers, and others who will place orders the moment they see your jet killing another jet. The share prices go up/down pegged to the life and death of citizens. In a world where kids are born to eventually grow up and enhance shareholder value, this, sadly, makes sense.
There is another carnival during the time of war called TV news. Imagine a news panel where a 60-year-old expert is dissecting a topic, bringing in his three decades of experience. Everybody is listening intently, and suddenly an air siren goes off; it is the BREAKING NEWS siren, everybody bows in reverence to the power of 'breaking news', even though we eventually find out the massive breaking news is basically the home minister going for a meeting to the Prime Minister's Office. The expert has lost his train of thought, the anchor deems the visit as 'kuch bada hone wala hai (something big is about to happen)', despite the minister just doing his daily job. All of it, just for the sake of commercial breaks!
My only sympathies are with the on-field reporter who's at the LoC, with missiles flying over his head, risking his life. I know they love their job, but it is a gig where they just get 15 seconds of airtime before they are cut off and the anchor moves on to an 'expert' sitting in the air-conditioned studio. We hope the reporter opens a YouTube channel in the future.
The war is still on. Nobody knows how far up the escalatory ladder we will climb, but with each successive rung, we exchange a bit of thrill for some fear. The radius of indifference may shorten. But we still believe in the Lindy effect — the longer something has existed, the more likely it is to continue existing, or to put it crudely in my native tongue— kuch nahi hoga. Here's to hope.
Abhishek Asthana is a tech and media entrepreneur and tweets as @gabbbarsingh. The views expressed are personal
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
YouTuber, tourist, influencer, spy: How Pak's ISI is rewriting rules of espionage
Chandigarh: Punjab Police suspect that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is employing a new espionage strategy by leveraging the wide reach of Indian YouTubers — not just to gather information of vital installations but also to influence public opinion online. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now After the arrest of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra on spying charges by Haryana Police, Punjab Police Wednesday arrested YouTuber Jasbir Singh, with 11 lakh subscribers on his YouTube channel, for his alleged involvement in espionage activities. In the last one month, Punjab Police have arrested at least eight others, from a cobbler to a tailor and to SIM card seller from various places in the state, on spying charges. Police believe that ISI was working on "traditional and evolved forms of espionage". "In an evolved strategy, Pakistan are likely to have tapped the YouTubers for their outreach and accessibility. Such noted YouTubers carry a cover of respectability and goodwill. They have recognition and identity. Due to this, they get access to so many places without facing any hindrance. For instance, they can pass on the strategic information of vital installations, like some dam, while making a video where they show it as a tourist place," according to a police officer. "There is high possibility that enemy would also use them for narrative campaigns and not only for information gathering of vital installations. Take the example of recent conflict between India and Pakistan. Many would say we defeated Pakistan. There would be others who would say we lost. So, the enemy can use such influencers for a narrative creation also which suits it," said the officer. The officer further said police were probing in detail as to since when Pakistan had been using them for information gathering of strategic places and installations, and for the creation of any narratives. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "We are looking deeply into the espionage network which has been busted. Was it created recently around Pahalgam terrorist attack or Pakistan was working on it for long. Pakistani officials develop such networks gradually. They would invite them in their programs, interact with them, do their khaatirdaari, and gradually start using them. What actual damage in terms of sharing sensitive information the arrested accused were able to do eventually is another story. But, they were compromised, this is for sure," said the police officer. Jasbir Singh on his YouTube channel 'JaanMahal video' put out number of videos of his visits to Pakistan in which Jyoti Malhotra also feature prominently. Apart from their visits to Sikh religious places in Pakistan, Jasbir and Jyoti are also seen in videos together along with other people accompanying them in other places – like in a video titled 'yaar honi ghumde Lahore ni', savouring among other things street food of Lahore. In another video put out by Jasbir, Jyoti is seen eating what she calls Pakistani golgappe (water balls). Announcing Jasbir's arrest on Wednesday, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said that Jasbir maintained "a close contact with Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra." The DGP revealed that Jasbir visited Pakistan on three occasions in 2020, 2021 and 2024 and came into direct contact with ISI officers, who subsequently cultivated and recruited him to carry out espionage activities within India. Yadav said Jasbir attended the Pakistan National Day event in Delhi last year on the invitation of Pakistani national and expelled Pak High Commission official Ehsan-ur-Rahim aka Danish. As per police, Jasbir used his social media platform as "cover to share sensitive information about Indian Army movements and activities with Pakistani handlers". Cobbler to tailor: 'Spies' in Punjab Police net April 28 | A cobbler, Sunil Kumar, was arrested from Bathinda military station for alleged espionage activities. He had been working at the station for the last seven years. A woman is suspected to have trapped him to get sensitive information. May 3 | Two persons, Suraj Masih and Phalak Sher Masih, both resident of Bahlarwal village, Ajnala, Amritsar, were arrested for "transmitting sensitive information and photographs of Army cantonment areas, BSF positions, police units and air bases in Amritsar to their Pakistani handlers". May 8 | Malerkotla residents Gazala and Yameen Mohamad were arrested for "leaking classified military information to a Pakistan-based handler". The name of Pakistan High Commission official Danish surfaced in the case. According to Punjab Police, sharing of information by them led to the arrest of Jyoti Malhotra in Haryana. May 12 | Neeraj Kumar, a resident of Shahpurkandi in Pathankot who used to sell SIM cards, was arrested for suspected espionage after a SIM allegedly issued by him was found active in Pakistan before being deactivated. May 12 | Rakib, a tailor working at Bathinda cantonment was arrested after he was alleged to be "in contact with suspected Pakistan intelligence operative numbers and in possession of suspicious military document". May 15 | Police arrest Sukhpreet Singh and Karanbir Singh for "supplying sensitive related to Operation Sindoor to Pak's ISI" in Gurdaspur district. June 3 | Tarn Taran police had arrested Gagandeep Singh alias Gagan for "sharing sensitive information concerning Army movements during Operation Sindoor with Pakistan-based pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla, operating under the command of the ISI". June 3 | Ropar-based YouTuber Jasbir Singh was arrested for "spying for Pakistan's ISI". MSID:: 121652622 413 | MSID:: 121652622 413 |
India.com
20 hours ago
- India.com
Who is 'Madam N' from Pakistan, ISI agent accused of building an army of 500 spies in India, she runs..., her name is...
Since the Pahalgam terror attack, relations between India and Pakistan have been severely strained. Several Indian YouTubers and citizens have recently come under scrutiny after being accused of allegations of spying on behalf of Pakistan. The individuals are accused of having passed on confidential information or conducted online activities that threatened national security, further fueling the already charged atmosphere between the two countries. One such person is YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, was also accused of spying against India. The first hearing of Jyoti's case will be held in the Hisar court on June 9. Lawyer Kumar Mukesh, who will plead Jyoti's case in Haryana's Hisar District Court, said that Jyoti has made videos for her YouTube channel at different places and has also gone abroad with a visa. On May 26, the court sent Jyoti to judicial custody for fourteen YouTuber was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information and being in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen. She allegedly met a Pakistani officer, Ahsan-ur-Rahim, in Delhi, travelled to Pakistan twice, and shared sensitive information. During the preliminary investigation, the woman told the police that she went to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa and met a man named Ahsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish. According to sources cited by NDTV, a businesswoman running a 'travel agency' in Lahore, Pakistan, has been identified as the key figure behind facilitating visits of Indian social media influencers to Pakistan. She is believed to have laid the groundwork to use them as spies, raising serious concerns over cross-border espionage efforts. Sources reveal that Noshaba Shehzad, a businesswoman operating under Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), played an important role in facilitating the travel of Indian social media influencers to Pakistan. Through her Lahore-based company, 'Jaiyana Travel and Tourism', she assisted individuals like Jyoti Malhotra, who was recently arrested, along with several others, in entering the country. As per the NDTV report, Sources say that during the interrogation of arrested social media influencers in India, investigators uncovered the name of a key figure—Ms. Noshaba Shehzad, known within Pakistan's ISI by the codename 'Madam N.' Shehzad's role, they allege, was far more than just arranging travel. She had been quietly working to build a vast sleeper cell network of at least 500 individuals—people trained to blend into everyday life and operate undetected across India. According to sources cited by NDTV, Ms. Shehzad is married to a retired officer of the Pakistani civil services. Acting on detailed instructions from the Pakistani Army and the ISI, she was tasked with establishing a sleeper cell network within India, designed to operate discreetly and avoid detection.
India Today
21 hours ago
- India Today
Battle of the Takhts: What's tearing Sikh institutions apart?
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated June 9, 2025)In a faith where five thrones symbolise unity, two just went to war. On May 21, a religious cannonball was fired from the east: Takht Sri Patna Sahib, one of Sikhism's five revered seats, located in Bihar. The Panj Pyare or 'five beloved' leaders of Patna have declared as tankhaiya, i.e. guilty of religious misconduct, two of their senior clerical peers back in Punjab: the acting jathedar of Akal Takht, the supreme seat of Sikh authority in Amritsar, as well as the Takht Damdama Sahib flashpoint? A decision by the Akal Takht to reinstate a controversial former jathedar, Giani Ranjit Singh Gauhar, without so much as consulting Patna Sahib, which had dismissed him in 2022 amidst a welter of corruption and other response from Amritsar was instant. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which controls the Akal Takht's management, thundered its disapproval and demanded that Patna Sahib retract its edict. The latter refused to blink. What started as a personnel shuffle is now an all-out turf war. At stake: not just religious authority but the very idea of Sikh unity. The battlelines are blurring faith, power and politics in a way that's left the global Sikh community rattled. advertisement If this feels unprecedented, it's not. In 2008, then jathedar of Patna Sahib, Giani Iqbal Singh, had openly challen-ged the Akal Takht's supremacy. That spat was hushed up via backchannel diplomacy. This one is being livestreamed—on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram. Every edict, every insult, every act of defiance is now a global push notification. The timing couldn't be worse. Sikh institutions are already reeling from the recent sacking of three jathedars—the previous Akal Takht chief and heads of two other Punjab-based Takhts—by the SGPC, in a move seen by many as politically engineered. It was supposed to be a course correction. Instead, it has triggered a FAULT LINESFor the faithful, the crisis is more than administrative. And it's exposing fault lines long buried under the surface. The Akal Takht, established by Guru Hargobind in 1606 as a seat of power and justice, has operated as the first among equals: issuing hukamnamas (edicts), settling disputes, excommunicating those deemed out of line. That moral supremacy was sanctified not just by tradition, but by proximity to power—the SGPC and Punjab's political aura that itself drew from its centrality to Sahib is no upstart. It was formally accepted as one of the five Takhts by the SGPC in the 1950s, but its sanctity predates that by centuries. It is the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh—the tenth Guru and founder of the warrior Khalsa order—and has long been revered as a spiritual centre for Sikhs in Bihar, Jharkhand, Bengal and eastern Uttar Pradesh. The tensions with Takht Hazur Sahib in Nanded, Maharashtra, are another powder keg. Nanded has often bristled at attempts by Amritsar to assert supremacy: on calendar reforms, clergy appointments, even on rituals. It, too, has been known to issue independent the global Sikh diaspora, this is nothing short of disillusionment. The schism isn't just geographic—it's ideological. Sikh preachers from California to Calgary are offering counter-narratives—filling the vacuum left by dithering Takhts. This doctrinal free market may be democratising discourse, but it's also breeding chaos. With no clear line of command, contradictory edicts are now routine. The current stand-off may still be walked back through closed-door parleys. But some damage seems to have been done to India Today Magazine
