Washington, DC [United States], June 5 (ANI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, addressing the Indian diaspora in Washington, DC, recalled the chilling moment during the recent terror attack in Pahalgam when a woman, devastated after witnessing her husband’s death, cried out, “Kill me too.” The terrorists, however, refused and instead told her to go back and tell the story.
Tharoor highlighted this painful incident to emphasize the strong, unconditional support India has received from US lawmakers following the attack.
Speaking as part of an all-party Indian parliamentary delegation, Tharoor said the primary purpose of their visit was to share India’s ordeal and seek solidarity in the fight against terrorism.
“There’s been a very wide, impressive cross-section of legislators who met us and spoke to us. I must say our purpose in coming was actually very simple — to lay out what we’ve been through in India in the last few weeks, with the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and seek understanding and solidarity with us on these measures,” he said.
Describing the nature of the engagement, Tharoor added, “The relationship with India matters to all these people. The strategic partnership is real. We saw it in practice… There are always things going on. In fact, when our meeting was ending at the Senate, they had to rush off to a vote. There’s always something going on, but they found the time for us and engaged with us in a very positive and constructive way.”
Tharoor also underscored the strong bipartisan support India has received, saying, “We came prepared for much more pushback or questions or even some skepticism. We found none. There has been unconditional support extended to us in our struggle against terrorism.”
He further pointed out the diverse composition of the Indian delegation, contrasting it with the divisive and brutal motives behind the Pahalgam attack.
“Seven MPs representing five political parties, seven states, and we also have two ambassadors with us — the current and former ambassadors to Washington. We have eight states and three religions… I mention religions not because it should matter, but because the terrorists in Pahalgam tried to make religion an issue by asking their victims their religion before shooting them between the eyes and performing this heinous crime so there would be survivors to tell the story of their questions… That is the message they wanted to give,” he said.
Addressing the diaspora directly, Tharoor urged them to continue speaking out and influencing their elected representatives.
“When you speak up to your representatives and tell them what you’d like to see happening in their positions, on matters that affect all of you, your families back home, and India, that really counts. They are conscious of you, they respect you. You’re all very, very high achievers, people who do significant things,” he said.
The delegation, led by Tharoor, arrived in the US on Wednesday. It includes Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, and Bhubaneswar Kalita (all from BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena), former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora.
This visit forms part of India’s broader diplomatic outreach under Operation Sindoor, following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
(ANI)
About The Author
