Lakshmi Ramachandran, General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Congress and spokesperson for the TNCC, is facing intense backlash on social media following her recent comments regarding the Pehalgam terror attack. In an attempt to buttress the Muslim minority in state, Ramachandran posted on her official account on X, downplaying the communal angle of the April 22nd attack in Pehalgam, where reports claimed that Hindu tourists were specifically targeted. Eyewitness accounts shared online alleged that the attackers forced male victims to strip down to confirm their religious identity before shooting, further fueling outrage.
Despite these allegations, Ramachandran framed the incident solely as an act of terrorism by Pakistani militants, stating it was not a Hindu-Muslim issue. Critics accused her of insensitivity and of trying to whitewash the religious targeting aspect of the attack.
In her post, she wrote, “Attack by Pakistani terrorists on innocent tourists in Pehalgam is extremely disturbing. The way Godi media is reporting the ghastly attack, treading a careful line lest they displease Modi-Shah, is highly irritating. They are making this a Hindu-Muslim issue to please their bosses. They are claiming that the terrorists made sure that the victims were Hindus before shooting them down. Some of the victims are Tamils and Telugus we hear. How the hell will Pakistani terrorists distinguish between a Tamil Muslim and Tamil Hindu? Shame on you Godi media. You have no humanity left in you. INDIANS were killed and the perpetrators should not be spared.”
Attack by Pakistani terrorists on innocent tourists in Pehalgam is extremely disturbing.
The way Godi media is reporting the ghastly attack, treading a careful line lest they displease Modi-Shah, is highly irritating.
They are making this a Hindu-Muslim issue to please their…
— Lakshmi Ramachandran (@laksr_tn) April 22, 2025
Sinister 2025 Pahalgam Hindu Massacre Leaves 28 Dead, Dozens Injured in Kashmir
On 22 April 2025, militants carried out a brutal attack in the scenic Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, killing at least 28 people and injuring more than 20 others. The assault, one of the deadliest in the region since the 2019 Pulwama bombing, was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot. Indian officials condemned the incident as a terrorist act, with evidence suggesting the attackers aimed to resist alleged demographic shifts in the Kashmir Valley.
The Attack
Around 2:50 PM, between four and six armed militants disguised in military-style clothing emerged from the nearby forest and opened fire on a crowd of tourists enjoying the clear weather after days of rain. Survivors recounted that the attackers initially posed as security personnel, asking victims for their names and religious identity before launching a targeted assault.
Eyewitnesses reported that the militants singled out non-Muslims by demanding that individuals recite the Islamic kalma and checking for circumcision—those who failed were executed. Most of the victims were men. In a chilling account, a gunman reportedly spared a woman, telling her she was being left alive to “tell Prime Minister Modi what happened here.”
Graphic videos circulated online showed blood-soaked victims lying across the meadow, with terrified survivors pleading for help. Emergency responders quickly arrived, transporting the wounded to nearby hospitals, with some critically injured individuals airlifted to a military hospital in Srinagar.
Casualties
The attack claimed the lives of 28 civilians, including:
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24 Indian tourists from states like Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat, Haryana, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh,
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2 locals from Jammu and Kashmir, and
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2 foreign nationals from Nepal and the UAE.
Among the deceased were a 26-year-old Indian Navy officer and an Intelligence Bureau official. Over 20 others were seriously injured, hailing from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
Security forces swiftly launched a joint search and cordon operation, involving the Indian Army and local police. Helicopters were deployed to track the militants, and a temporary lockdown was imposed in parts of Pahalgam.
The Resistance Front (TRF), which operates under the umbrella of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility. In a statement, the group justified the attack by accusing the Indian government of settling over 85,000 “outsiders” in the region, allegedly attempting to alter the valley’s demographic makeup.
Despite widespread media coverage and survivor testimonies confirming that victims were forced to strip and recite the Islamic kalma to determine if they were Hindu or Muslim—with threats of being shot otherwise—Tamil Nadu Congress spokesperson Lakshmi Ramachandran chose to downplay the communal nature of the attack. By insisting it was merely a generic act of terrorism, not one specifically targeting Hindus, she appeared to be prioritizing political optics and vote-bank considerations over acknowledging the truth.
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