{"id":297873,"date":"2025-05-12T14:27:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T08:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=297873"},"modified":"2025-05-12T14:27:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T08:57:30","slug":"from-tragedy-to-trolling-himanshi-narwal-widow-of-naval-officer-killed-in-pahalgam-faces-social-media-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/from-tragedy-to-trolling-himanshi-narwal-widow-of-naval-officer-killed-in-pahalgam-faces-social-media-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"From tragedy to trolling: Himanshi Narwal, widow of naval officer killed in Pahalgam, faces social media trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

It took less than 10 days for social media users to do a full u-turn on Himanshi Narwal, the wife of late naval officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, who was killed in a terror attack in Kashmir on April 22. The couple had gotten married just six days ago, on April 16, and were in Kashmir for their honeymoon.<\/p>\n

Vinay Narwal was among the 26 shot dead<\/a> by terrorists in what is being dubbed the worst attack on civilians in recent history. Survivors, including Himanshi, had said that those killed were targeted based on religion<\/a>. “They said he doesn’t look like a Muslim and shot him,” she said.<\/p>\n

After the carnage, the image of a grieving Himanshi sitting next to her husband’s lifeless body soon became a symbol of the brutality that unfolded in the Baisaran valley.<\/p>\n

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The above image was aired by almost every news channel and carried across newspapers the following day. On social media, many, including the BJP, amplified the picture, or versions of it, to express solidarity with her or to make communal remarks, like “Even in death, only religion mattered<\/a>” and “They asked for your religion, not caste<\/a>“.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by India Today (@indiatoday)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But by May 1, the tides turned against Himanshi; much of the sympathy for the late officer’s wife suddenly turned into hateful, abusive trolling.<\/p>\n

The Turning Point<\/h4>\n

Many social media users accused the woman of ‘protecting jihadis’. Why? Because of an appeal she made on May 1, while attending a blood donation camp on her late husband’s birthday in Haryana\u2019s Karnal.<\/p>\n

“I just want the entire nation to pray for him that wherever he is… he remains in good spirits, he is healthy and at peace. That’s it… There is one more thing that I want, I do not want any hatred towards anybody. This is what’s happening. People are going against Muslims or Kashmiris. We don’t want this. We want peace and only peace.<\/strong> Of course, we want justice. Of course, the people who have done wrong to him should be punished.”<\/p>\n

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Karnal, Haryana: On the birthday of the late Indian Navy Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, his wife Himanshi says, “I just want the entire nation to pray for him, that wherever he is, he remains healthy and happy…” pic.twitter.com\/8MdugaqmOg<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 IANS (@ians_india) May 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her statement came amid a rise in \u2018retaliatory\u2019 hate crimes<\/a> targeting Muslims and Kashmiris, and calls for boycott and hate in the aftermath of the terror attack.<\/p>\n

But her public appeal for peace didn\u2019t sit well with many social media users, who often share radical, far-Right content and identify with the Hindutva ideology, going by their bios.<\/p>\n

Soon, many who were initially referring to her as ‘Himanshi Narwal’ stopped and instead began using her maiden name, ‘Himanshi Swami’, to address her. A few users online even began questioning whether she ever cared about her late husband and whether she qualifies for the monetary compensation she would receive as the widow of Vinay Narwal.<\/p>\n

People dug into her past, scrutinised her decision to continue wearing the mangalsutra <\/i>(a necklace worn by some married Hindu women), and brought up her old social media posts. Some even made remarks that suggested she was complicit with the terrorists. All of this seemed to be largely because her condemnation for what happened was largely devoid of any Islamophobic or communally charged rhetoric. It was rather the opposite.<\/p>\n

Documenting Hate<\/h4>\n

Himanshi became the target of the social media hate machinery.<\/p>\n

On May 1, X user @erbmjha posted Himanshi’s video, where she urges peace for all, with a sarcastic remark:<\/a> “Sarv Dharm Vadapao ultra pro Max”.<\/p>\n

Another X user, @PremPandey1011, followed up this post<\/a> with claims that he knew Himanshi, adding that “she was student of MA CESP in SSS, #JNU , she used to love muslims a lot , Her daily habit was to visit Jhelum hostel of JNU , a boys hostel where Mainly Kashmiris lived. She was in Living relationships with Kashmiris!! [sic]” This person added that she “got her fate”. (Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n

In a follow-up post, @PremPandey1011 added<\/a> that he “doesn’t wish for Indians to develop a fake sympathy for such girl through media narrative”. He calls Himanshi underserving of any sympathy since he claims she might have been friends or even romantically involved with a Kashmiri or a Muslim person during her college days. (Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Remember, these posts got thousands of views and were reshared by many.<\/p>\n

Three days later, on May 4, the user added another post to the thread<\/a> with an image of Himanshi. Text on the image made it seem like she was being quoted. It read: “I told my husband for Kashmir trip to show him army is fascist, And i don’t want to say any thing wrong about Muslims as I’m from DU and have many Muslim friends, I don’t want to ruin my friendship.”<\/p>\n

Above this image and quote, the X user insinuated that “such girls” should not receive their late husband’s pension or any other compensation. They then shared a screen recording of those Himanshi followed on Instagram. The recording seemed to highlight that she followed many Muslims. A post of hers wishing everyone ‘Eid Mubarak’ was also mentioned. (Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Presently, her Instagram account is private, and thus, details of whom she follows or what she shares are not publicly accessible. Additionally, details regarding Himanshi’s education mentioned by this user are available on her LinkedIn profile, which is public, so it’s possible that the details were taken from there. Note that the inflammatory quote attributed to her in the May 4 post was not reported by any credible news outlet and is likely fabricated.<\/p>\n

Below are screenshots of these posts.<\/p>\n