For decades, Pakistan waged a ruthless proxy war in Kashmir, not with tanks or troops on the ground, but with a far more insidious weapon: meticulously engineered propaganda that preyed on emotions and turned young lives into expendable tools. The peak of this cruel strategy arrived in 2016 with the elimination of Burhan Wani, a local militant who had been deliberately built up as a glamorous symbol of resistance. His handlers across the border flooded social media with his videos, portraying him as a clean-cut hero fighting for Aazadi. When security forces neutralised him, Pakistan's Inter Services Public Relations machine swung into overdrive. Images of massive funerals, weeping children and defiant crowds were circulated globally with calculated precision. Every tear was weaponised, every slogan amplified and every casualty spun into proof of Indian brutality. The goal was simple yet devastating: radicalise an entire generation, sustain recruitment for terror groups and keep Kashmir burning as a perpetual thorn in India's side.

This was no spontaneous outpouring of grief. It was a cold, strategic campaign designed in Rawalpindi drawing rooms, executed by faceless operatives who never had to face the consequences of their actions. Young boys were lured with promises of paradise and glory, only to end up as statistics in a conflict that enriched no one in the Valley. Families were told their sons died as martyrs when in truth they died as pawns in Pakistan's obsessive vendetta against India. Schools remained shut for months, businesses collapsed, tourism vanished and normal life became a distant memory. Stone pelting became a daily ritual, orchestrated disruptions a badge of honour and the cycle of violence fed itself relentlessly. All the while, Pakistan's establishment issued pious statements of solidarity from the safety of Islamabad, secure in the knowledge that Indian forces were tied down and international attention remained fixed on the unrest they had manufactured.
Beneath this engineered narrative, the real sentiment of Kashmiris of seeing India as their own country, wanting peace, opportunity and pride in belonging was always there, hidden and suppressed by decades of manipulation and intimidation. Most families never truly wanted endless war. Most parents hoped for normal lives for their children. Most youth aspired to dignity and progress within India rather than destruction for empty promises. This authentic voice stayed buried under the fog of propaganda, coercion and violence that Pakistan sustained.
Yet even the most elaborate deceptions eventually crumble when confronted by reality. By December 2025, that real narrative is rising clearly as the fog lifts. In the grounds of Panzgam in Kupwara district, thousands of young Kashmiri men stand in disciplined lines, waiting for their turn at the Territorial Army recruitment rally. They have prepared for months, running at dawn, building stamina, dreaming of a future in uniform. Families gather around the edges of the field, eyes bright with anticipation. When a candidate sprints across the finish line and qualifies, something extraordinary happens. A younger brother, who has been watching in tense silence, suddenly breaks down in tears of overwhelming joy and pride. Nearby, a father jumps and cheers with unbridled emotion as his son clears the physical test. These moments, captured on ordinary phones and shared across the nation, carry a power that no staged funeral procession ever could.
These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a sweeping transformation across the Valley, where the hidden authentic sentiment is now openly emerging. Record numbers of Kashmiri youth are turning out for Indian Army recruitment drives, whether for Agniveer schemes or Territorial Army units. From Baramulla to Shopian, from Anantnag to Kupwara, the enthusiasm is unmistakable. Parents accompany their sons, mothers offer prayers for success and entire villages celebrate when candidates return home selected. The same youth who might once have been misled into picking up stones now train rigorously to meet army standards. They choose discipline over disruption, honourable service over hollow slogans and a secure future over certain death.
This rise of the real narrative has become possible because lasting peace has dismantled the terror ecosystem Pakistan supported. Cross border infiltration has plummeted. Local recruitment to militant ranks has fallen to almost zero. Development projects long stalled by violence are now completing at rapid pace. Roads reach remote villages, schools’ function throughout the year, hospitals receive modern equipment and tourism brings prosperity directly to local families. High speed internet allows young people to study online, prepare for competitive exams and connect with opportunities across India. When life becomes normal, the engineered fog thins and what was always there, the genuine desire for integration and pride in India, comes to the forefront.
Pakistan watches these developments with growing desperation. Their multi decade project of keeping Kashmir alienated is collapsing as the real narrative rises. The tears they once exploited for propaganda are now tears of joy at personal achievement. The crowds they once mobilised for funerals now gather to celebrate sons joining the nation's defenders. Every viral video from these rallies drives another nail into the coffin of the old deception. A brother crying not because his elder sibling lies in a grave but because he has earned a place in the Indian Army. A father celebrating not a manufactured martyrdom but a genuine milestone. These authentic emotions expose the bankruptcy of the engineered grief that sustained violence for so long. Kashmiris are choosing their country, not because they are forced to, but because it reflects what was always in their hearts, now free to show.
The tide has turned decisively. Pakistan's proxy war, built on manipulation and misery, is failing as the real voice of Kashmir emerges. More rallies will come. More youth will qualify. More families will experience the profound satisfaction of seeing their children build careers of honour and service. What Pakistan sought to hide through deception is now rising plainly: Kashmir's authentic pride in being part of India. The engineered nightmare is ending and the authentic reality that was always there is finally prevailing.