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Indian fashion businesses cash in on Pakistan conflict flare-up, tap surge in nationalism

Military-themed T-shirts and tote bags bearing slogans or Operation Sindoor, the name of latest campaign against Pakistan, are hot sellers

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A woman wears in Ludhiana, India, wears a T-shirt emblazoned “Operation Sindoor”, the name of the military operation against Pakistan in response to a militant attack in Indian Kashmir. Businesses have cashed in on a surge in nationalism. Photo: AFP
Agence France-Presse

Hours after New Delhi and Islamabad launched their worst conflict in nearly three decades, Indian businesses cashed in on a surge in nationalism with T-shirts and bags glorifying the military.

After a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, New Delhi launched strikes deep into Pakistan’s territory as part of what it named “Operation Sindoor”.

India blamed Pakistan for backing the attackers who killed 26 civilians. Islamabad denied it and called for an independent inquiry.
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A ceasefire was reached on May 10 after four days of fighting, but a massive wave of nationalist support for the military operation continues unabated in India.
T-shirts featuring “Operation Sindoor” on display at a store in Ludhiana, India. Businesses have cashed in on the recent flare-up in the India-Pakistan conflict, offering military operation-themed T-shirts and tote bags. Photo: AFP
T-shirts featuring “Operation Sindoor” on display at a store in Ludhiana, India. Businesses have cashed in on the recent flare-up in the India-Pakistan conflict, offering military operation-themed T-shirts and tote bags. Photo: AFP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government used Sindoor, the Hindi word for the red powder which married Hindu women wear on their foreheads, as a sign that it was to avenge those widowed in the April 22 attack.

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