In a fitting tribute to the civilian martyrs of the terrorist attack in Rajouri earlier this month, the J&K admin has awarded the mother of the two brothers who were killed in the barbaric attack. In a span of 12 hours, six people were brutally murdered in Jammu’s Rajouri district. The dead include two minor children, a father-son duo and two other persons, all hailing from Upper Dhangri area of Rajouri. According to police, two terrorists first struck on January 1 evening by randomly entering three houses and firing indiscriminately at the occupants. Before leaving, the terrorists are believed to have planted an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the area. On the next day, a powerful explosion ripped through the same area, killing two minor children while four more, including three women were injured. Sources suggest that the IED was planted by the perpetrators with the intention of causing the explosion just when the security forces would have arrived in the area after the first attack, suggesting that a lot of thought process had gone into planning the attack. This is not the first time that terrorism has reared its ugly head in Jammu. The region had remained unscathed by violence that caused immense bloodshed and suffering in Kashmir over the last three decades. But over the past few years, the security situation in Kashmir has changed with a number of terrorist attacks reported in which several civilians and security forces personnel were killed. Official data suggests that at least 14 militants were killed in Jammu region out of more than 180 who were gunned down in J&K in 2022. The attack in Rajouri took place barely few days after four terrorists were gunned down in Sidhra region of Jammu. Earlier, a series of IED explosions, sticky bombs, grenades attacks, etc. have taken place in Jammu, Udhampur, Doda, Poonch and Rajouri districts, suggesting that Jammu is emerging as a new epicentre of terrorism. This is a disturbing trend which needs to be curbed before it turns into a menace. At a time when the union territory is set to undergo a major transformation, the revival of terror attacks doesn’t bode well for the future of J&K. At the larger level, the civil society should come forward and condemn these attacks with force and conviction. Six families have been destroyed. No religion permits this senseless bloodbath. It is time for people of Jammu and Kashmir to speak up and condemn this barbarism in strongest possible terms.