There are some things about life that we take for granted. Sometimes that list includes life itself, whether we realise it or not. On Wednesday, May 21, I boarded an Indigo flight from Delhi to Srinagar. Just another day in public life. Just another flight. I take my usual seat at 19F, at the emergency exit. Opting for that seat is an old habit.
I’m on autopilot, doing all the things I normally do on a flight. Forty-five minutes in the air. Halfway to our destination. Then, there is an announcement over the PA, asking us to fasten seatbelts. But there’s no turbulence. About five minutes later, we see lightning, clearly visible as it stabs through daylight. Now there is some turbulence, but it progresses rapidly. I realise this is not your regular turbulence. This is severe, the likes I’ve never experienced on my ‘frequent flyer miles’ before.
Not Your Usual Turbulence
The plane is scarily tilting to the right. I am acutely aware of this because I am seated on the right-hand side of the Airbus A321neo. I’m accustomed to planes banking for a variety of reasons, but this does not feel like a normal situation.t is not a series of bumps or jerks. The entire aircraft starts tilting precariously. We are hurtling down, seemingly to a sickening drop. Not a minute or two, I would say, at least ten terrifying minutes. Outside, all we can see are clouds, ripped apart by angry streaks of lightning and constant hail. My mind is racing.
Now there are other noises in the passenger cabin. Not the normal buzz of conversation or a meal service. No, now people are screaming. Praying. Chanting. Some are actually screeching. The wave of sound creates added tension and fear. I am conscious of passengers trying to film on their phones. But a voice – was it male? Female? Passenger? Flight attendant? I can’t remember. The voice says, ‘Stop filming’.
My life doesn’t flash before me. Instead, I’m consumed by the thought that if something goes terribly wrong, I will miss the wedding in a few months of my only daughter. I think of my daughter, wife, stepdaughters, brothers, colleagues, friends. I think of what a tragedy it would be to leave them all behind, without the chance to say goodbye to any of them.
Sadness. The sadness is overwhelming. It is a deep, abiding sorrow for relationships and friendships that will not progress beyond this fraught afternoon.es, I am aware of how blessed my life has been. Perhaps – I honestly don’t know – it had something to do with going to a dingy lane in Kolkata in 1990, which housed the worldwide headquarters of a congregation of nuns. The setting was spartan, almost awkward: four tackily painted wooden stools set out on a verandah overlooking a quadrangle. My first meeting and touching the hand of Mother Teresa (now St. Teresa of Calcutta).
So, what else ran through my mind? I didn’t think about politics. I didn’t think about Parliament. I didn’t think about the number of followers I had on X or Instagram. I was focused on the people I love. People who mean the world to me. People who have been an important part of my life.
I prayed to a higher being. I made a pact. A pact to be good.
My colleague, a few seats away, had felt the tension too. We had battled our own fears in our ways. Bathed in perspiration, he looked as if he had just stepped out of a shower. At the time, I didn’t think to ask him what I looked like.
A few weeks ago, the European Union’s Europol made over 25 arrests during a crackdown on AI-generated Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). The operation which spanned 35 countries led to 70 arrests, the rescue of 39 children, and the seizure of devices.
The main accused, a Danish national, ran an online platform which allowed users access to AI-generated content depicting child abuse, after making a “symbolic online payment.”This is the brute reality of child sexual abuse in the digital era, a state-of-the-art borderless crime, amplified by anonymity, which is difficult to detect using traditional frameworks. AI-generated abusive content like deep-fake manipulation, chat-bots and other emerging forms like self-generated content, live-streaming of CSAM, online grooming, and Webcam Child Sex Tourism (WCST) are on the rise. Even though the artificially created content has no real victims, it raises serious concerns about the human tendency to derive gratification from simulated suffering inflicted upon children, eventually triggering demand for such content everywhere.
A Legal Turning Point: From Moral Denial to Legal Recognition
India accomplished a breakthrough in its legal journey on September 23, 2024, when the Supreme Court delivered a landmark Judgment in Just Rights for Children Alliance v. S Harish, addressing the legal governance and criminalisation of “CSEAM- Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material”, earlier known as “Child Pornography”.
The case arose from a Madras High Court judgment that quashed the criminal proceedings against an accused found in possession of CSEAM. It held that mere possession/storage or viewing of such material without an intent to transmit does not constitute an offence under the Information Technology Act, 2000 or Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act).The Supreme Court not only overturned the High Court’s order of terming possession, storage and watching of CSEAM in private as a matter of “mere moral decay” but also criminalised the downloading, viewing, possession, and storage thereof, whether shared or not.
The court also issued a sweeping set of directions, marking a watershed moment in India’s jurisprudence on digital child protection. These directions inter-alia mandated legislative reforms by way of replacing the term “Child Pornography” with CSEAM to also cover the generative nature of content. “Child pornography” is misleading and trivialises the severity of the crime, as it implies consensual adult content while ‘CSEAM’ accurately reflects the exploitative nature of these materials, including AI-generated depictions.
Statistics and Trends: Scale of the Problem
The judgment comes amidst an alarming surge in incidents in India. The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), USA, in its tip-line report 2023, reveals that India accounts for around 9 million of the 36.2 million suspected CSEAM reports worldwide.
A 2023 report, Entangled in the Web: Cybercrimes against Children in India by India Child Protection, stated that there was a five-fold increase in such cases from less than 3% in 2017 to 15% in 2021 in the country. Meanwhile, NCRB data revealed a staggering 2,561% increase in reported child pornography cases from 44 in 2018 to 1,171 in 2022.
Recognising the gravity of such cybercrimes, the Government of India implemented the Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children Scheme under Nirbhaya Fund. Moreover, a MoU has been signed between NCRB India, MHA and NCMEC for facilitating the tip-line reports on online child sexual explicit contents. Virtual Scars, Real Harm: India’s Legal Shift.
New Delhi: A few weeks ago, the European Union’s Europol made over 25 arrests during a crackdown on AI-generated Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). The operation which spanned 35 countries led to 70 arrests, the rescue of 39 children, and the seizure of devices.
The main accused, a Danish national, ran an online platform which allowed users access to AI-generated content depicting child abuse, after making a “symbolic online payment.”
This is the brute reality of child sexual abuse in the digital era, a state-of-the-art borderless crime, amplified by anonymity, which is difficult to detect using traditional frameworks. AI-generated abusive content like deep-fake manipulation, chat-bots and other emerging forms like self-generated content, live-streaming of CSAM, online grooming, and Webcam Child Sex Tourism (WCST) are on the rise. Even though the artificially created content has no real victims, it raises serious concerns about the human tendency to derive gratification from simulated suffering inflicted upon children, eventually triggering demand for such content everywhere.
A Legal Turning Point: From Moral Denial to Legal Recognition
India accomplished a breakthrough in its legal journey on September 23, 2024, when the Supreme Court delivered a landmark Judgment in Just Rights for Children Alliance v. S Harish, addressing the legal governance and criminalisation of “CSEAM- Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material”, earlier known as “Child Pornography”.
The case arose from a Madras High Court judgment that quashed the criminal proceedings against an accused found in possession of CSEAM. It held that mere possession/storage or viewing of such material without an intent to transmit does not constitute an offence under the Information Technology Act, 2000 or Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act).
The Supreme Court not only overturned the High Court’s order of terming possession, storage and watching of CSEAM in private as a matter of “mere moral decay” but also criminalised the downloading, viewing, possession, and storage thereof, whether shared or not.
The court also issued a sweeping set of directions, marking a watershed moment in India’s jurisprudence on digital child protection. These directions inter-alia mandated legislative reforms by way of replacing the term “Child Pornography” with CSEAM to also cover the generative nature of content. “Child pornography” is misleading and trivialises the severity of the crime, as it implies consensual adult content while ‘CSEAM’ accurately reflects the exploitative nature of these materials, including AI-generated depictions.
Statistics and Trends: Scale of the Problem
The judgment comes amidst an alarming surge in incidents in India. The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), USA, in its tip-line report 2023, reveals that India accounts for around 9 million of the 36.2 million suspected CSEAM reports worldwide.
A 2023 report, Entangled in the Web: Cybercrimes against Children in India by India Child Protection, stated that there was a five-fold increase in such cases from less than 3% in 2017 to 15% in 2021 in the country. Meanwhile, NCRB data revealed a staggering 2,561% increase in reported child pornography cases from 44 in 2018 to 1,171 in 2022.
Recognising the gravity of such cybercrimes, the Government of India implemented the Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children Scheme under Nirbhaya Fund. Moreover, a MoU has been signed between NCRB India, MHA and NCMEC for facilitating the tip-line reports on online child sexual explicit contents.
Impact of Judgment
However, the last couple of months have seen some direct and tangible impact of the judgment.
Within a week of the judgment, Punjab’s Cybercrime Division arrested a man and identified 54 suspects for disseminating CSEAM via platforms like Instagram and Telegram.Similarly, in Hyderabad, three individuals were held for downloading and sharing CSEAM on social media platforms. These arrests were facilitated by cyber tip-line reports that provided crucial leads such as IP addresses and emails.
In October 2024, in a major operation dubbed “Paedo Hunt,” the Delhi Police raided 20 locations and booked 11 individuals for circulating CSEAM.
State Governments, too, have sprung into urgent action. Odisha Government announced the formation of a dedicated task force to coordinate with law enforcement for investigating and prosecuting CSEAM-related crimes, and committed to a zero-tolerance policy.
The Indian legislature has also taken steps to ensure the online safety of children. Clause 9[7] of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, provides for “parental verification” for processing of children’s data, thereby aiming to curb CSEAM by restricting the profiling, targeting, and behavioural advertising of children.
This judgment is not the end, but the beginning—one of many necessary interventions to dismantle this growing menace. We now need a revolutionary approach to pierce through technological warfare such as cryptocurrency, which is widely used by perpetrators due to its anonymity and decentralisation.
Global Practices and India
The global legal frameworks have evolved to deal with this complex cross-border crime, and while India has taken some gigantic strides, our regulatory response and enforcement must keep pace.
The United States criminalizes not only real child-abuse content, but also computer-generated, and AI CSEAM. It also mandates the platforms to report to NCMEC, while empowering a NCMEC-Tech Industry Consortium to protect children in digital spaces.
The laws in the United Kingdom not only cover all generative forms of CSEAM, but also prescribe strict penalties for failing to proactively detect or remove CSEAM. Its regulatory watchdog, ‘Ofcom’ holds digital platform.
On May 9, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the disbursement of another $1 billion to Pakistan under its latest Extended Fund Facility (EFF), reinstating Pakistan’s dependence on international bailouts. As a country with a high dependence on imported oil, whenever oil prices hike or international borrowing declines, Islamabad’s reserves take a further hit. Since 1958, whenever this occurs, Pakistan has approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout approximately every three years, seeking to save its economy under the condition of improving macroeconomic indicators. While the role of the IMF has been minimal in reforming Pakistan’s governance, its fund facilities have stabilised the economy from falling into the pit grave. However, the key question remains: have IMF bailouts inadvertently enabled an environment to facilitate terror financing? If so, should India try to block IMF funds to Pakistan? Persistent macroeconomic imbalances have led to a state of massive public debt, with the country facing massive external debt repayment dues. The Pakistani economy has structural weaknesses, from a narrow tax base to low productivity. Islamabad is also extremely dependent on imported energy, with energy imports accounting for 20 to 40 % of total imports. Of the previous 25 IMF programmes, 15 were sought during times of oil crisis, caused due to energy import dependence.
A worsening balance of payment crisis and periodic foreign exchange shortages have also emerged over time. For instance, in 2021-2023, foreign exchange reserves plummeted as low as about two weeks’ worth of imports, and inflation jumped to 38%.
Pakistan’s performance in development indicators is also severely lacking. It ranks 109th out of 127 countries in the 2024 Global Hunger Index, with 40% of the population in poverty and public expenditure on health and education below 3% of the GDP in 2023.All these factors have led to Pakistan approaching the IMF 25 times since 1958, with the latest fund arrangement approved on September 25, 2024.
Recovery, But Modest
Corrective policies adopted under the IMF programmes have stabilised some economic conditions to a limited extent. Pakistan, with seven decades of cyclical debt accumulation with the IMF, was able to bring a modest recovery under these programmes. The economic growth rebounded to 2.4% from 0.6% in 2023, and inflation was brought to single digits from double-digit levels in 2025. In the latest 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement, which commenced in 2024, the key conditionalities of the IMF programme include implementing sound macroeconomic policies, such as rebuilding international reserve buffers, broadening the tax base, enhancing productivity and competitiveness, and reforming State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). While Pakistan may continue to rely on the IMF to develop reform plans to enhance its economy, the IMF’s role remains minimal until the authorities undertake domestic reforms to improve their governance. However, it forces Pakistan to be accountable to the IMF and the world regarding the money it receives.
Why FATF Is Important
In that context, fiscal accountability under IMF programmes falls short of addressing the deeper security risks that shape Pakistan’s economic trajectory. This is where the role of the FATF becomes critical.
It is within the FATF’s mandate to identify jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in countering illicit financing and to take consequential action, including greylisting and blacklisting. These designations significantly restrict a country’s access to global capital, raise borrowing costs, and create barriers to securing funding from international financial forums such as the World Bank and the IMF. To put things in perspective, it is the FATF’s actions that restrict the IMF’s support.
When Pakistan was placed on the FATF grey list between 2018 and 2022, it faced significant economic and diplomatic fallout, including increased scrutiny from investors, diminished confidence in its markets, delays in financial assistance, and, more critically, a reputational setback to its reform narrative. The designation also brought targeted pressure on hawala networks, non-profit fronts, real estate transactions, and the misuse of precious metals by Pakistan-based groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).To remove itself from the grey list, Pakistan was compelled to enact over 30 legislative reforms aimed at strengthening its anti-terror financing architecture. However, the recent attack in Pahalgam is likely to evoke renewed concerns regarding the legitimacy and political will behind these measures by Pakistan.
Why Building Western Consensus Is Tricky
India’s pressure campaign at the FATF thus presents a more targeted and relevant avenue to raise the costs of Pakistan’s persistent reliance on sub-conventional warfare. That said, the lack of publicly presented evidence linking the Pahalgam attack to Pakistan-based handlers and support from the deep state may undermine the credibility of India’s case, thereby delaying FATF-led actions.Geopolitically, the end of the US-led ‘War on Terror’ in Afghanistan weakened the global political momentum behind counter-terror financing efforts. In that light, despite strategic ties with the US, India’s attempts to build Western consensus for punitive action against Pakistan at FATF will remain complicated. India’s window for targeted diplomatic action remains narrow. With Washington distracted and China shielding Pakistan at key fora, New Delhi must also enhance engagement with middle-power allies in the Gulf and Europe as a long-term strategy.
There is a clear shift happening in how people choose their food these days. More and more consumers are leaning towards clean-label food products made with natural ingredients and fewer artificial additives. This growing demand for clean label and healthier food options is changing the food industry worldwide. What is driving this movement? Simple. People want to be healthier, they want transparency in food labelling, and they are increasingly suspicious of artificial chemicals. Brands can no longer get away with confusing ingredient lists full of unpronounceable words. Consumers prefer foods with straightforward, natural ingredients. This is not just a fad – it is a serious change in what people care about, and it is shaking up the entire food market.Several factors explain why people are moving away from artificial food additives, with health concerns leading the pack. Research shows certain artificial sweeteners might harm the gut microbiome (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health). Preservatives like nitrates and nitrites, often used in processed meats, have been linked to a higher risk of colorectal cancer. With this info just a click away, it is no surprise people are hungry for natural alternatives.
Consumers are not just looking for healthier food; they want to trust what they eat. A 2025 report showed that 74 per cent of consumers consider ingredient transparency important when buying food. Complex ingredient lists with many artificial substances break that trust. Clean label products offer shorter, simpler lists that focus on natural ingredients without preservatives. Key points here: Consumers want to know where their food comes from and how it is made. Transparency is as important as the absence of artificial additives.
The financial impact of this shift is huge. The clean label ingredient market is expected to reach USD 69.3 billion by 2029, driven by demand for natural ingredients, organic additives, and preservative-free options. The natural food preservatives market alone was valued at $0.5 billion in 2023 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 6.9 per cent, reaching $1.1 billion by 2033. The global wellness foods and beverages market contributes a large chunk to the $1.8 trillion wellness market (McKinsey & Company, 2024). This forces food makers to innovate and replace synthetic ingredients with natural ones.The financial impact of this shift is huge. The clean label ingredient market is expected to reach USD 69.3 billion by 2029, driven by demand for natural ingredients, organic additives, and preservative-free options. The natural food preservatives market alone was valued at $0.5 billion in 2023 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 6.9 per cent, reaching $1.1 billion by 2033. The global wellness foods and beverages market contributes a large chunk to the $1.8 trillion wellness market (McKinsey & Company, 2024). This forces food makers to innovate and replace synthetic ingredients with natural ones.Clean label products are not just a Gen Z or Millennial thing. Sure, about 66 per cent of these younger consumers are willing to pay more for them, but older generations are jumping on the bandwagon too. The ‘Health-Conscious Consumer’ segment pays attention to nutrition, fitness, stress, and even environmental impact. Research suggests:
India’s natural and organic food market is expected to hit $8.9 billion by 2032, signalling rising health awareness.
90 per cent of consumers want to eat healthily at least some of the time.
63 per cent eat healthily most or all of the time.
Our L of C [line of communications] Jammu-Srinagar was threatened by infiltrations both from the east and from the west. Although Pakistan had launched no major attacks, our L of C Jammu-Naushehra was also very vulnerable. The threat to Jammu lay in its proximity to the Pakistan border, and to Naushera in the strong Pakistan build-up in the area of Bhimber-Sadabad. Fighting around Jhangar, Uri and Tithwal had been stabilized, and Pakistan had committed her regular troops in these areas supported by mountain and field guns. In the case of Uri, they had also brought up medium guns.For India, the military situation in Kashmir had been adversely influenced by political considerations. Pakistan had no legal or moral right, in view of the expressed wishes of the people and its ruler, to operate with its army in Kashmir, whereas India did. India referred the matter to the UN, which set up the UN Commission on India and Pakistan (UNCIP), before which both parties came to an agreement to refrain from offensive action which was likely to aggravate the situation.
Because of its strict adherence to this agreement, India was unable to use her air force in its primary role of isolating the battlefield by attacking Pakistan’s supply and communications bases, or to attack Pakistan’s installations on the Indian side of the border, inside Kashmir, such as Muzaffarabad and Mirpur, because of possible escalation.On the other hand, Pakistan made full use of the lull caused by the agreement to build its strength and supplement its forces in J&K territory, in such a manner that Poonch and Leh were systematically encircled. For Leh, we had an alternative means of communication via Manali; but the route was long and costly and only usable between June and October. Poonch, however, was so closely invested that our supply planes could not land there, while Pakistan constantly used her artillery, shells often falling amongst the refugees whom we had been giving shelter.
The general situation in September 1948, with Leh and Poonch in danger, was, therefore, militarily unsound; but was forced upon us-an example that arms are the servants of political policy. Pakistan continued to aggravate the situation, mustering greater and greater strength against the two isolated garrisons, preparing to defeat them in detail, failing which, starving them and the refugees into submission. The problem was whether we should evacuate these two garrisons or force a link-up.The gaps in our line were from Baltal via Kargil to Leh and from Rajori to Poonch. Pram Baltal to Kargil (fifty miles), the track was snowbound throughout the winter, whereas from Kargil to Leh (150 miles), it was open throughout the year. Rajori to Poonch was only a distance of fifty miles, but this route ran over a series of high ranges and deep valleys with no tracks across them.
If Kashmir was not allowed to be captured by Pakistan, we had to close these two gaps and link-up these garrisons. To achieve this end, we carried out two relief operations. I shall later describe those two operations: ‘OP DUCK’ (the name of which was afterwards changed to ‘OP BISON’, and ‘OP EASY’), which led to the ceasefire.
