On April 21, Vice President J.D. Vance arrived in India with great fanfare to improve relations as New Delhi positions itself to replace China as America’s major trading partner. Unfortunately, one day later, on April 22, gunmen opened fire and killed 26 Indian tourists in Kashmir, a region claimed by both India and Pakistan. No group was charged, but India took immediate action against Pakistan by closing a portion of its border, expelling Pakistani diplomats, and halting participation in an irrigation system that Pakistan relies on. This massacre was the worst in the Indian-administered territory in years, and some officials hinted that military strikes may be launched. Threats and retaliatory actions are going unnoticed, given the world’s ongoing wars, but both nations are nuclear powers and have fought several wars over Kashmir since the partition by the British of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. After the news broke, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew back immediately from a trip abroad and pledged revenge. "Today, I say to the whole world. India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth.”
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