Boy’s interview after losing father in Pahalgam attack goes viral; netizens claim children shouldn’t be questioned about such matters
Videos featuring a 10-year-old boy, whose father was killed in Tuesday's terror attack in Kashmir, have rapidly spread across the internet, drawing significant attention to Pahalgam. While some viewers have commended the child for asking “more insightful questions than the media,” others have expressed discomfort over the media's persistence in questioning a minor and involving him in conversations about religion.
Naksh Kalathiya, the young boy, is the son of Shailesh Kalathiya, a 44-year-old manager at the State Bank of India in Mumbai. Shailesh was on vacation in Kashmir with his wife, children, and a colleague's family when he was tragically murdered during the attack. Following the incident, multiple news outlets have approached the family for details on the horrific attack.
In one video, Naksh is surrounded by more than 10 microphones. Despite his apparent distress, he answers questions calmly, including whether he would ever return to Pahalgam, to which he firmly replies, “no.” He also questions why the presence of army personnel in the area did not prevent the terrorist activities.
This 35-second clip has been viewed over 96,000 times and shared more than 74,000 times, with some viewers criticizing the media's handling of the situation.
In another interview with ANI, Naksh, who hails from Surat, recalled hearing one of the terrorists instruct the others to divide the men based on their religion. The boy claimed that all the Hindu men were then shot.
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He said, “We were at the ‘mini Switzerland’ point in Pahalgam when we heard gunshots. We hid once we realised that terrorists had entered the area. But, they found us. We saw two terrorists. I heard one of them ordered all the men to separate into Muslims and Hindus, and then shot all the Hindu men."
He also shared that the gunmen asked “men to recite ‘Kalma‘ three times". “And all those who couldn’t were shot dead."
“Once the terrorists left, the locals came and said that all those who had survived should go downhill immediately. The army arrived an hour or so after we climbed down from the point… The terrorists were not letting him (my father) speak at all…They did not say anything (to my mother)…One of the terrorists was fair and had a beard. He had a camera tied to his head…They spared the women and the children…," he went on.
A number of the comments under both videos were concerned for the child’s well-being and condemned the interviewers and news agencies for asking him such questions during such a painful time. Nevertheless, people couldn’t help but be impressed by his calm and direct manner of speaking about the traumatic occurrence.
