In modern warfare propelled by technology, including AI tools, there is neither a winner nor a loser. In the end, both parties involved in a war are losers. The ordinary people of India heaved a sigh of relief at the declaration of a ceasefire after four days of armed conflict between India and Pakistan.

Indian leaders, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claimed that Pakistan, rattled by the air attacks by Indian forces, entreated India for a cessation of hostilities. On the other hand, US President Donald Trump claimed that he played a critical role in brokering the ceasefire and that Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken at length with their Indian interlocutors, helping bring about the truce.

On Monday, May 12, Trump said his administration had "helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire—I think a permanent one—between India and Pakistan, ending a dangerous conflict of two nations with lots of nuclear weapons." He described India and Pakistan as "going at it hot and heavy" and "seemingly not going to stop." He even said that he was ready to mediate to find a solution to the Kashmir issue. He also claimed that the threat of cutting off trade forced India and Pakistan to stop their fighting, asserting that his administration had prevented a "nuclear conflict" between the two neighbours. The Prime Minister, in his address to the nation on May 12, did not say that Trump's claims were unfounded.

Irrespective of the claims by India and Trump, the decision to halt military actions by India and Pakistan has brought great relief to the people of both countries. Both countries have already suffered losses in terms of human casualties and the destruction of buildings. As per official declarations by Pakistan and India, Pakistan lost 40 civilians and 11 members of its armed forces, while India lost 5 military personnel and 16 civilians. Those who suffered from the limited conflict were the ordinary people, not the political leaders and their supporters, who are warmongers.

World leaders have praised the ceasefire between India and Pakistan as a key move to reduce tensions between the two countries. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the development, urging both nations to build on this progress. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the ceasefire as hugely welcome and called on both countries to maintain calm. EU Foreign Chief Kaja Kallas emphasised the significance of the ceasefire and the need for vigilance to ensure it holds. Pope Leo XIV also expressed his appreciation of the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

Unfortunately, a section of Indians is not only unhappy but also angry about the ceasefire. According to them, India lost an opportunity to teach Pakistan a lesson. They vented their ire through relentless and abusive trolling of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who announced the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. The angry and senseless trolls did not spare his family, including his daughter. Targeting a person who merely announced a decision by top leaders, like the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Defence Minister, and Foreign Minister, is a grave injustice. It is ridiculous. Misri was forced to lock his X account following abusive comments about his daughter by users.

Various civil servant organisations, retired civil servants, and political leaders have condemned the trolling of an upright and professional civil servant. The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Association posted on X that it stands in solidarity with Mr Misri and his family. "Unwarranted personal attacks on civil servants performing their duties with integrity are deeply regrettable. We reaffirm our commitment to uphold the dignity of public service," the Association posted. The IPS Association also posted on X: "We unequivocally condemn the deplorable personal attacks against Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri and his family. Such unwarranted assaults on civil servants committed to their duties are absolutely intolerable."

Political leaders like Sachin Pilot of the Congress, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, and Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi repudiated the abusive trolling of Misri. "Our civil servants work under the Executive; this must be remembered and they shouldn't be blamed for decisions taken by the Executive or any political leadership," wrote Asaduddin Owaisi.

Unfortunately, no one from the ruling party or the government took the trouble to rebuke the trollers, who are blind supporters of PM Modi. Their silence speaks volumes about the strategy of using hate speech as a political weapon. This weapon has been used relentlessly and profusely by the BJP and its supporters during the last eleven years. Just after the Pahalgam killing by terrorists, Muslims and Kashmiris were targeted with abuse and hate speech, despite abundant and sincere expressions of solidarity with the victims by the Muslim community and the people of Kashmir.

The British newspaper The Guardian reported a hate speech by Vishnu Gupta, the president of a prominent hardline group, the Hindu Sena. He reportedly said: "The attack in Kashmir was an attack on Hindus, and we will respond in kind—not only against Kashmiris but against every Muslim in India if the government does not take action. There should be a complete boycott of Kashmir by tourists to teach them a lesson." No action was taken against him.

It has been natural for some BJP leaders to spit out the venom of hatred against Muslims. The latest example is the repulsive and derogatory statement by Vijay Shah, Madhya Pradesh Minister for Tribal Affairs, on May 13. While addressing a meeting in Railkunda village in Mhow, near Indore, he said, "Terrorist killed the husbands of our sisters. Modi has made them bite the dust by sending their sister..." The terrorists killed the Hindus by opening their clothes, he said. "Because Modi cannot take their pants off, he sent the sister of those people who made our sisters widows to unclothe them," he added.

Many leaders have condemned Vijay Shah's vulgar statement. The Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, has asked the Prime Minister to remove him from the post of minister. This shows palpably how the Djinn of hate speech has become uncontrollable even by the BJP's top leaders.
The root of this venom of hatred can be traced to the ideology of the BJP itself. MS Golwalkar, the second Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, whom the RSS calls Guruji, considered minority faiths (Muslims and Christians) and revolutionary activists (Communists) to be "Internal Threats" in his Bunch of Thoughts. Another statement from his book, We or Our Nationhood Defined, also indicates his hatred towards Muslims and Christians:

"The foreign races in Hindustan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment— not even citizen's rights." (We or Our Nationhood Defined, Bharat Publications, Nagpur, 1939)

Not only are hate speeches by BJP leaders and supporters used to target Muslims and Christians, but also the policies of the BJP governments are guided by hatred against them. For example, many BJP-ruled states have banned the sale of non-vegetarian items (meat, fish, and eggs) on certain Hindu festival days, and in certain areas of cities and towns they have declared to be holy.

For centuries, Hindus had no objection to the sale of these items, and they did not consider them polluting. One wonders how, all of a sudden, these items have become polluting. The real aim of this ban appears to be to deprive Muslims of their livelihood, as the majority of those engaged in the business of selling these items are Muslims. No religious text says that certain food items are polluting. Food habits, to a great extent, depend on the availability of food items and the climatic conditions of the area in which people live. Kashmiri Brahmins eat meat, and Bengali Brahmins have no problem eating fish. Names of places with Muslim connotations or references are being changed with a sense of vengeance by the BJP governments.

As a result of using hate as a political weapon, it has been imbibed by a large section of the Indian population. Now, it is being used not only against Muslims but also against Hindus who do not fall in line with the hate ideology. In the case of Vikram Misri, he was made a scapegoat. As the trolls do not dare to target the leaders who made the decision, they blame the person who announced it. It clearly shows that once the Djinn of hatred is released, it is difficult to contain it.

The nation will have to pay a heavy price for injecting the venom of hatred into the veins of Indian society. Those who encourage and promote hatred today may become its victims in the future. This is the lesson one can learn from the experience of many countries.

Terrorism cannot be tackled by alienating and excluding a considerable number of citizens, branding them as enemies of the nation, and denying them fundamental justice. All the measures announced by PM Modi in his address to the nation on May 12 will be effective only when there is unity among the people of India and justice is done to all, irrespective of their religion, caste, language, etc. A divided nation will not be able to defeat its enemies.