The killings of 26 tourists in Baisaran near Pahalgam were one of the worst tragedies in recent times. Baisaran is a lovely spot accessible only by horse or walking to traverse the uneven terrain. The killings left the whole nation in deep grief. While the terrorists killed tourists after confirming the religion of the victims, one Muslim, the local person escorting the tourists, tried to resist and was killed.

Kashmiri porters also carried the tourists to safe places and opened their houses and Masjids for the guests. Kashmir observed Bandhs, and many processions with the slogans of 'Hindu Muslim Unity' were taken out, while all over the country, Muslims and other groups took out the candle marches and offered condolences for the martyrs.

Mr Modi was due to be in Kashmir then, but just a few days prior, he cancelled his trip. He was in a Gulf country when the attack took place. He cut short his trip and headed back home, and rather than going to Kashmir, he went to Bihar to attend a rally where he gave a seemingly powerful warning to terrorists. The message that terrorists were Muslims and victims were Hindus was the undercurrent of the whole narrative which was circulated.

Mr Donald Trump declared the ceasefire, while Mr Modi has a different interpretation. Meanwhile, the Godi media had a field day spreading hate. Different channels reported winning over various cities in Pakistan while sitting in their plush studios. The Godi media fell to unimaginable lows and had a further fall in smashing the ethics of journalism, long abandoned by them.

The worst outcome has been the increase in hate against Muslims. Islamophobia, gripping the country with increasing intensity, is reaching unimaginable heights. In Latur, a Muslim was labelled a Pakistani and Kashmiri and beaten black and blue. Humiliated by this, he committed suicide. Kashmiri students in an Uttarakhand hostel were thrown out in the middle of the night, and they had to stay put up in front of Deharadun Airport. The worst of this was seen when Vijay Shah, a minister in BJP's MP Government, called Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the military spokesperson of the Indian army, a 'sister of terrorists.' For the sake of saving face, he apologised for it.

Mithila Raut, who works with the Center for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai, in an article in Dainik Loksatta (Marathi), enumerates the number of hate incidents as reported in the papers. As per her article, there have been many incidents of anti-Muslim incidents after the Pahalgam attack. In one of the shocking incidents in UP, Shamli's Toda village, Sarfaraz was attacked by Govind. Govind stated that you have killed our 26; we will kill your 26! In Punjab's Dera Bassi in the Universal Group of Institutes, Kashmiri students were attacked in the hostel.

One Shabbir Dhar, a Kashmiri living in Mussoorie, had a shop selling shawls. He was attacked along with his shop assistant and was threatened as the culprit of the Pahalgam killings and was threatened not to come back again. In Haryana's Rohtak village, the Muslim residents were threatened to leave the village by 2nd May.

These are some of the incidents that have been culled from selected newspapers. How the atmosphere of hate has been intensified is very clear from these incidents. The atmosphere of the society has been gradually worsening. The Hindu right has already created an atmosphere against Muslims. Initially, it was created by use of medieval history, where the training in RSS shakhas, the Godi media and social media created an enemy image for Muslims.

The formation of Pakistan gave another major pretext to communal politics to assert that Pakistan had been formed by the Muslims. This is a totally distorted version of the account of history, as the formation of Pakistan was a combination of three factors: British Policy of Divide and rule, Muslim communalism and Hindu communalism. The Two-Nation Theory was first articulated by Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savakar.

After the formation of Pakistan, the propaganda was that partition took place due to Muslims, and this became an additional point of hate. As such, two states were formed simultaneously, India and Pakistan. Pakistan was to be in Muslim-majority areas. The add-on to anti-Muslim propaganda came from the complex Kashmir issue. The exodus of Kashmiri pandits in 1990 was yet again used against Muslims. Exodus of Pundits happened when the VP Singh Government, supported by the BJP, was ruling at the centre, and pro-BJP Jagmohan was the Governor of Kashmir. Ignoring all that, the anti-Muslim angle in Pundits' emigration was the central point around which the hate against Muslims was exaggerated.

So, step by step, more issues have been added to torment the Indian Muslims. The voices of amity have been muted, and every occasion now is turned into adding to the prevalent hate against Muslims; every occasion is used to strengthen the hate, which the RSS-BJP uses to intensify its agenda of the Hindu nation.

The issue of Pahalgam has also brought to the fore the change in the nature of Indian diplomacy. Per the Simla Agreement (1972) between Indira Gandhi and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, India-Pakistan issues were to be resolved bilaterally without mediation from a third party. With Donald Trump dominating the scene and Modi unable to confront him, the equations seem to be changing. Globally, not many countries have come to India's side.

The core point is to solve the Kashmir issue based on Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Doctrine of Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriyat (Humanism, Kashmirism and Democracy). We need to live in peace with our neighbours; as Vajpayee again said, "Friends can change but not neighbours." The reflections of hate, as the Hindu right wing is wont to do, supplemented by the loud-mouthed and hate-spewing Indian Godi media, directly reflect badly on Indian Muslims. It vitiates the possibility of an amicable atmosphere at home in the country.

The intensification of communal problems due to the Pahalgam issue needs to be grasped, and war and Hate mongers have to be negated for the peace and prosperity of our country. So far, "Pakistani" was the chief abuse for Muslims; now "Kashmiri" has been added to the hate point.