Operation Ashwamedha: The aircraft stood silent on the tarmac like a wounded bird, its nose tilt...

Operation Ashwamedha: The aircraft stood silent on the tarmac like a wounded bird, its nose tilted slightly towards the winter fog of Amritsar. Inside, fear breathed through the cabin in shallow gasps. Forty-seven passengers sat frozen, hands bound, eyes searching for hope in the dim cabin lights. Outside, the floodlights cut through the night, and beyond them waited India’s last line of defence — the National