Little more than days after starting a new chapter in his life, 26-year-old Lieutenant Vinay Narwal was brutally gunned down in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.
His marriage to Himanshi Narwal on April 16 was followed by a honeymoon trip to the scenic Baisaran meadows.
But their joy was short-lived on April 22, when the couple was targeted by a gunman who attacked Lt Narwal at point-blank range, leaving behind his young bride and a nation in shock.
A tragic photo of Himanshi sitting next to her husband's coffin rapidly turned into one of the most moving depictions of one of the deadliest terror attacks in recent history.
The father of Lt Narwal, Rajesh Narwal, still struggles with a grief he calls unimaginable. He thinks only a person who has suffered such loss—someone like Pakistan's military chief, General Asim Munir—could know the magnitude of this grief.
“He (General Asim Munir) will only be able to understand my pain the day someone harms his son or daughter. The day he learns that his son or daughter was killed in a terrorist attack, only then will he understand the pain. If I, an ordinary person, were given a gun to shoot and took his son or daughter, then he would know the pain,” Rajesh Narwal told NDTV.
The disaster struck just a few days after their wedding ceremonies in Karnal, Haryana. The young couple, relishing the picturesque scenery of 'Mini Switzerland', were having a peaceful moment when horror struck. The Narwal family has been trying to accept the tragedy ever since.
"I am unable to cry even in front of my family members," Rajesh confessed. "My wife, my parents, they are shattered.". But I need to remain calm so that they think I am strong. There is no peace of mind. There have been so many days, and we cannot sleep. Our minds are in full blackout. No one can sleep for more than two or three hours. When we approach the psychiatrist, they give us medicines. But there is no remedy for this. We get other diseases. This is what we are.
The body of Lt Narwal was taken from Kashmir to Delhi and then to his hometown for the last rites. His widow, relatives, naval officials, and local residents came to pay their respects. His naval cap was put on the coffin, and Himanshi conducted the last rites, a sight that made many stand in quiet tears.
A shining and talented officer, Lt Narwal had entered the Indian Navy through the Services Selection Board and soon went up the ranks. He had always been attracted to the armed forces since childhood, his father added.
"He was infatuated with soldiers. He would force me to go to the roadside to see convoys. He had that spark, leadership, courage, discipline.". My wife, parents and I built him together over thirty years. We taught him to speak the truth and live with integrity. He lived fearlessly. He died that way. He is—and will always be—my hero,” Rajesh said, adding, “Vinay is always on my mind, 24 hours a day. When I wake up in the morning, he is the first thing I see.”
Internationally, the U.S. recently added The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy group of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The outfit had taken responsibility for the Pahalgam attack.
Although Rajesh Narwal hailed the move, he asked for more robust, concrete action against such groups.
"The US government has made this move, but it did not happen overnight.". The TRF was created in 2019 when our government abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. It is their veneer. Terrorist groups, be they based in India or in any other corner of the globe, aren't done with just sanctions. I am of the view that such groups, whose goal is to propagate terrorism and cause injury to society, should be confronted with more than sanctions. This cannot be confined to our nation or the US. Sanctions are not sufficient. If we see their pictures and know their ideology, their activities, and their sources of funding, from where the money is coming and who is funding them, then we know them. They must be eliminated," he said in an interview to NDTV.
Following the terror attack, the Indian Army initiated Operation Sindoor on 16 July. In what the officials labeled as a "measured and proportionate" military operation, strikes were made at nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, such as Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Rawalakot, Bahawalpur, and Neelum Valley.
As the family weeps and the nation laments, Lt Vinay Narwal's tale is a harsh reminder of the cost of terror in human lives—and the strength of those who remain behind.
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