‘Life Froze That Day’: One Year After Pahalgam Attack, Survivors Still Battling Trauma, Struggle To Move On

Wednesday, April 22 will mark one year of the terror attack in Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 people were killed, most of them tourists. LeT-backed The Resistance Front (TRF) claims responsibility for the attack. Victims were picked based on religion and shot at close range in front of their families.

A year later, the violence has ended, but for survivors and families, the pain continues.

Memories that refuse to fade

For many families, the trauma returns again and again. It comes back whenever there is a government statement, a police update, or even social media content related to the attack. Mentions of Operation Sindoor in political speeches also bring back those memories.

While public attention has moved on, the families say their grief has not

changed. The loss remains as sharp as it was on that day.

Aishanya’s loss and fight for justice

Aishanya, the wife of Kanpur businessman Shubham Dwivedi, saw her husband being shot dead in front of her. They had been married for just two months. She had begged the attackers to kill her too, but they did not. Shubham was among the first to be killed that day.

Now living in Kanpur’s Shyam Nagar with her in-laws, Aishanya says life has stood still. “Not a single day has passed without us remembering Shubham,” she says.

The family is still waiting for their demands to be met, a government job for Aishanya and martyr status for the victims. They have not asked for financial compensation. She says the support promised by leaders after the attack has faded. “The incident may have faded for others, but for us, the pain remains exactly the same,” she adds.

Aishanya, who studied at Kanpur University and loved dance and music, says she has not been able to focus on her career since the tragedy. Her life, she says, has been “stuck in shock” for a year. For now, her only goal is to seek justice.

Families choosing silence

In Jaipur, the family of Neeraj Udhwani has chosen silence. His 70-year-old mother, who had suggested the trip, now stays at home while the rest of the family avoids revisiting the memories. They prefer to remember him in prayers rather than speak about the attack.

Life for them has become a forced effort to move forward. His belongings remain untouched, as if time has stopped.

Grief that changes daily life

In Bhavnagar, Gujarat, the Parmar family lost Yatesh Parmar and his 16-year-old son Sumit. The tragedy has changed their way of living. The joint family no longer travels together. They avoid risks and live more cautiously.

Yatesh’s wife and Sumit’s mother, who witnessed the killing, remains deeply affected and withdrawn from usual life.

Living with “artificial normalcy”

In Bangalore, for the family of Bharat Bhushan, the loss has created a life that feels unreal. He was killed during a family holiday. His wife Sujatha had called his brother Preetham after the attack, describing how Bharat was shot. In his final moments, Bharat pleaded for his family’s safety.

Now, the family is trying to return to what they call an “artificial normalcy”. Sujatha hopes to start the clinic she had planned with her husband. Their son has gone back to school. “We don’t cry. We can’t afford to break down,” Preetham, Bharat’s brother says. “We know we are fragile, and we pretend to have a normal life.”

They take life one day at a time, trying to care for each other while carrying the loss.

Trauma that lingers every day

For Jennifer, the wife of 58-year-old Sushil Nathaniel, the memories have not faded at all.

During the attack, Sushil tried to protect her by pushing her behind a tree. She later lay beside his body in the cold valley, unable to move. She recalls waking up to see him lifeless, with blood flowing and the sound of gunfire still echoing.

A year later, in their home in Indore, Jennifer continues to relive those moments. Her son Austen says she has become dependent and often forgetful. The family ensures she is never alone. Her daughter Akansha has moved to Indore to support them.

The attack has changed every aspect of daily life for the Nathaniel family. They avoid social gatherings where people remind them of what could have been.

“We have become more fearful, more insecure,” Austen says.

He now carries the responsibility of the household. Plans to study abroad have been put aside. “That dream is gone. Now, my focus is my family,” he says.

Support came from neighbours and people across communities, but official help has been limited. Austen says he was promised a job but later denied it because his mother already had a government job.

“There were promises, but nothing happened,” he says.

Across different cities and families, the stories are similar. Grief has taken different forms- silence, withdrawal, or a daily struggle to appear normal.

For some, justice remains the focus. For others, survival itself is the challenge.

One year after the attack, the meadows of Pahalgam may have returned to calm, but for the survivors, the trauma continues to shape every day of their lives.