As the conflict between India and Pakistan has escalated, with its impact felt well beyond the border in the disputed region of Kashmir, this is the tensest time I can remember since 1971.

That was the year of the last major declared war between India and Pakistan. I was in seventh grade, and I can recall the sirens, the blackouts, and drills — much like what has been happening over the past couple of days.

In those days of intense conflict, the main source of information was a couple of radio stations. People would gather around a radio for accounts of the war, like a dogfight between the fighter jets of the two sides in northern India.