When Terror Shook Us All: A Teenager’s Memory of IC-814 Hijack as Masood Azhar Returns to Headlines

This was an era before social media. We were glued to the TV and relied on the next day's newspaper for detailed updates. In the days that followed, life stood still as the nation anxiously tracked every development, more so when the terrorists kept on arm twisting the government and their negotiators, while so many passengers lives stayed at risk. And then the nightmare came true when terrorists killed a 25-year-old businessman in cold blood.

When the hijackers released the body of Rupin Katyal, it felt like a collective wound. Ironically, it mirrors the Pahalgam attack, where two newlyweds—Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal and Shubham Dwivedi—were killed by terrorists. That tragedy prompted the carefully planned and executed Operation Sindoor, targeting identified terrorist camps. Newly married men—one returning from his honeymoon, and two on theirs—brutally murdered. Their young wives, whose mehendi had barely faded, were widowed, surrounded by terror. Both times, we cried. We prayed. We hoped. The nation held its breath.

Back in 1999, school new year holidays weren’t about joy and celebration. We entered the new year still gripped by the fate of those passengers. Newspapers published heartbreaking interviews with families. It was a heavy time.

When Masood Azhar was finally released and the hostages freed, the relief was palpable. But no one ever forgot the life that was lost. The name Rupin Katyal became etched in memory. The stories that emerged from those eight days — of fear, courage, and trauma, stayed with us.

And now, as news of Masood Azhar’s kin being killed in a strike makes headlines, one wonders, is this retribution for Rupin Katyal’s murder and many more after his release? A life once stolen by terrorism, perhaps now finding its voice in justice?

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