Hours after India struck terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied- Kashmir under Operation Sindoor, Himanshi Narwal, wife of Lieutenant Vinay Narwal of the Indian Navy, who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, thanked and requested the government to make sure this is the start of the end of terrorism in India.

But few paid attention to what she said. Her makeup became the topic of discussion.

“My husband was in the defence forces and he wanted to protect the peace, protect the innocent lives. He wanted to make sure that there is no hatred and terror in this country. I am thankful to the government, but I request them not to end it here. I want them to make sure that this is just the start of the end of terrorism in our country,” she said to the PTI.

But the makeup she wore while addressing the press was dissected, shamed, and judged by users online.

“Why all so makeup n lipstick. At Least wait for a few day Or month to regain your self care. Our culture is not the same as what is going on,” one user posted on X.

“Its just 15 days since she lost her husband. Look at her face with tons of makeup, lipstick and all that,” wrote another.

“Such loud makeup after the death of a loved one? Seriously, what's wrong with girls today? This isn't normal,” said a third.

Lieutenant Vinay Narwal was among the 26 people killed. A photograph of Himanshi sitting beside his body — eyes vacant, expression frozen — became the image of grief.

Then it fit the script. A mourning widow in silence and a nation in pain.

But Himanshi’s stand, later, disrupted that narrative.

At her husband’s birth anniversary last week, she said: "I do not want any hatred for anybody. People going against Muslims or Kashmiris, we don’t want this. We want peace and only peace. Of course, we want justice. Of course, the people who have done wrong to him should be punished."

It was a statement made in the middle of rising tension, as incidents of retaliation against Kashmiris took place across the country.

Her refusal to feed hate didn’t sit well with many.

Soon after, social media accounts that had earlier shared her photo as a symbol of sacrifice began to question her character. Her old pictures from college — from her time at Jawaharlal Nehru University — began circulating online. Trolls floated rumours, assassinated her character and doubted her loyalty.

The country lost a navy officer. Himanshi lost her husband. And then the nation turned against her, for refusing hate, choosing peace and now for wearing lipstick.

As India retaliated and provided justice to victims’ families, the woman, once the face of the nation’s grief, has turned into a target of collective suspicion.