On the night of May 16, 2014, a few hours after the outcome of the general election was known, a famous British-Indian sculptor was interviewed on BBC’s Newsnight. Obviously unsettled by the verdict, he lamented that “this was not the India I grew up in.” What he meant was not that India has visibly changed in five decades but that he could no longer identify with the New India that voted Narendra Modi to power.

Since February 14, as the sheer magnitude of the Pulwama outrage has been internalised, many ‘intellectuals’ and professional contrarians have expressed their misgivings over the prevailing mood. A few politicians — and some habitual loose cannons — have also chipped in with their conspiracy theories, inevitably linked to the forthcoming general election.

That the national mood is both angry and assertive is apparent. There is anger against Pakistan and there is also anger against locals — both those wielding guns and those pelting stones — who have joined with jihadis to realise the mythical Ghazwa-e-Hind, the prophecy of Islam’s conquest of Hind. Simultaneously, there is an assertiveness that says enough is enough and that Modi must ensure that Pakistan is repaid the pain it has caused us, with compound interest. All talk of an uninterrupted and uninterruptable dialogue with Pakistan has been thrown into the bin, as has people-to-people diplomacy. There is talk, this time in quarters outside the BJP, of finally junking Kashmir’s special status and Article 370.

Predictably, the fierce assertions of national solidarity have resulted in some excesses. These range from needless finger-pointing at Kashmiri students and the social media trolling of individuals who are perceived as either apologists for the separatists or soft on Pakistan. Wary of a ‘khaki election’, Mamata Banerjee has even detected a communal design behind the angry outpourings.

To gauge the change in India, it is instructive to look back on the reactions that greeted the hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Kandahar in December 1999, the eight-day crisis that concluded with the release of Maulana Masood Azhar, presently the head of the Jaish-e-Mohammed which has claimed responsibility for the Pulwama bombing.

The IC-814 hijack ended with India releasing three top terrorists in exchange for the 150 passengers who had been taken to Taliban-controlled Kandahar. It was a national humiliation for which the country has paid a very heavy price. The government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was understandably criticised for its wavering responses — the military failure to prevent the hijacked aircraft from leaving Amritsar and the diplomatic failure in Dubai to prevent the final journey to Kandahar.

No doubt the safety of the passengers explained the government’s hesitations and the final capitulation. However, the sad truth is that the public mood 19 years ago would not have countenanced any robust but risky approach. It is not that the government peremptorily ruled out a variant of Israel’s rescue of hostages from Entebbe airport in 1978. Apart from operational complications, the option was ruled out by a largely orchestrated — but highly effective — media and political campaign to free passengers at any price. Supposed ‘relatives’ of the hostages actually staged dharnas with placards demanding the release of Masood Azhar. The electronic media — still in its infancy in 1999 — also played a huge role in highlighting the likely trauma of the passengers, creating national anxiety and reducing the options before the government. The government’s only success lay in paring down the demand of the hijackers to release 36 convicted terrorists to just three.

In the Kandahar hijack, the government was forced to consider the softest option because the country wasn’t prepared to risk innocent lives. Has the mood changed in 2019?

After the surgical strikes and, more important, the spectacular success of the film Uri, the bar has been set very high. On the face of it, India conveys the impression it is willing to emulate Israel by shedding all niceties for total national security. Modi has been given a carte blanche to avenge Pulwama.

However, the public mood is prefaced on the certainty of successful retaliation. In the surgical strikes, the enemy was caught by surprise and there were no Indian casualties. Today, Pakistan is prepared and has promised retaliation. To teach the jihadi establishment a truly effective lesson, India will have to exercise hard options, including the grim sight of body bags.

It all depends on what sort of India we want. There is the goal of a New India that calls for endurance, determination and audacity; otherwise there is the soft Kandahar option.