So now we're sending a delegation.

Yes, a "Truth Team," armed with PowerPoint presentations, handshakes, and Shashi Tharoor's vocabulary, to convince the world: "This time, honest, we're telling the truth."

Apparently, bombing terrorist camps, which was a much-needed act and done well and precisely, needs a footnote these days: "Please believe us. Sincerely, India."

What a tragedy. That when we finally have justice and evidence on our side, we still need a PR campaign to prove it.

Why? Because we've burned our bridges with the world in not being interested in world opinion with a blowtorch of bravado.

Over the last ten years, we've mastered the art of calling every uncomfortable fact "foreign-funded fiction." When global agencies flagged our rising hunger levels, we said, "Jealousy." When they downgraded our press freedom, we cried, "Conspiracy."

When journalists were arrested, we claimed they were a threat to peace.

When minorities were lynched, we spun stories faster than our news anchors' fans.

And when the international community raised an eyebrow, we told them to mind their colonial business.

We yelled so often, so loudly, about imaginary attacks on our "national pride," that now, when there's an actual reason for national pride—like a measured, strategic military response—the world blinks and says, "But you've been spreading falsehoods and rejecting all the truths we brought to your doorstep before, are you crying wolf again?"

And here's the punchline: worse still, we're not just losing the world's trust—we're losing our own people's belief.

Scroll through social media today, and you'll find citizens second-guessing their own government, not out of disloyalty but because they've been bluffed one too many times.

And so, we send a delegation. Not to declare victory but to beg for credibility.

Let that sink in, dear people.

Truth, you see, is like our credit card—it continues working if we haven't reached its limit by spending on frivolous purchases.

Unfortunately, we swiped ours on inflated data, doctored headlines, and nightly news drama.

Now, at the checkout counter of international opinion, the card gets declined.

"Sorry, insufficient authenticity. Use another card!" So, we did. We called in the opposition to help!

After this tragic lesson, what should we start doing?

Simple: Stop lying and start telling the truth!

Stop labelling every critic as "anti-national," and start asking: "What if they're right?"

Start acknowledging those hunger reports, those poverty rankings, those uncomfortable truths.

Because until we clean up our own mirror, we can't complain that the world sees a distorted image.

And next time something brave and bold is done—like taking a stand, not just militarily but morally—we won't need a delegation to explain it.

Truth doesn't need a spokesperson. It can stand on its own.

Because after crying wolf for so long, we forgot what truth sounds like—and so did the world…!