From 9/11 to Pahalgam: India’s Evolving Strategy in the Global War on Terror — The Diplomat

Soldiers pose for a photo with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Adampur Air Force Base in Punjab on May 13, 2025, following Operation Sindoor. Some incidents in world history not only leave deep scars on the soul of a nation but alter the nation’s trajectory irreversibly. The terror attack of September 11, 2001 was one such incident. A perfectly normal morning turned into a horrific nightmare when 19 al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four passenger planes, two of which crashed into the Twin Towers in New York and one into the Pentagon building outside of Washington, D.C. The Twin Towers came crashing down and the result was a death count of almost 3,000. The resultant national outrage and anger led to the United States leading its most extensive military mission since the Vietnam War, chasing al-Qaida and its leader Osama bin Laden into Afghanistan. In a military campaign lasting almost 20 years, al-Qaida was largely neutralized and Osama bin Laden was eventually tracked and killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011. The 9/11 attacks led to profound changes in the United States as well, especially in matters of internal security. There was a clear mandate that no matter what, there cannot be another 9/11 type of incident on the American mainland ever again. In the Indian context however, it took decades…