Modi's dug himself into a hole here. After 2 years of cultivating a strongman image, and telling the country that he could singlehandedly tame and humiliate Pakistan, he has this attack by Kashmiri freedom fighters during an extremely critical period. Now there're two paths Modi takes. Two directions India can go after this episode.
One is the commonly trodden path of shedding the 'rising shining superpower' image, toning down the Balochistan rhetoric, and go back to pretending to be the peaceful and helpless state which needs the international community's help against evil terrorist Pakistan.
The other is chest-thumping and escalation.
One will hurt Modi's image, the other will hurt the stability of the region. We'll see what Modi chooses.