‘Only people of one religion were identified and killed’: Shashi Tharoor, part of all-party delegation mission of Modi govt, tells the truth of Pahalgam terror attack to the world
In a powerful recounting of the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor laid bare the chilling religious targeting that defined the assault. Tharoor is part of the all-party delegation dispatched by Modi government to different countries in batches to tell the world about the attack and India’s response.
While speaking at the Indian Consulate in New York, United States, Tharoor did not mince words in calling out the motives of the terrorists, stating that the attackers “identified the religion” of the victims and executed them purely on that basis.
Attack aimed at halting Kashmir’s growth story
Tharoor noted that the timing and brutality of the attack were calculated to damage the rising trajectory of Kashmir as a safe and flourishing tourist destination. He noted, “Last year, more tourists visited Kashmir than Aspen, Colorado. That’s not just normalcy, it is prosperity.” The resurgence in tourism was a visible sign of peace and growth under the Modi government’s developmental push post-Article 370 abrogation, a success story that enemies of peace sought to disrupt.
Tharoor emphasised that the attack was not a random actor of terror, but a deliberate, targeted assault meant to destroy communal harmony. He said, “It was not someone blowing people up indiscriminately — it was a group identifying people by their religion and killing them.”
‘Hindus were singled out, and the message was clear’
Out of the 26 people who lost their lives, 25 were Indian nationals and one was a Nepalese citizen. All of them, Tharoor pointed out, were Hindu and killed for that reason. He recounted the incident where a Hindu professor survived only because he could recite the kalma, the Islamic verse, tricking the terrorists into believing that he was a Muslim.
He recounted, “In some cases, the husband was shot, and the wife was told to go back and tell the world that he was killed for his faith.” Yet he lauded the people of India for not falling prey to the provocation. “I am proud to say there was no backlash,” he said, adding that Indian society stood united in grief and defiance.
Terror outfit claimed responsibility within an hour
The terror group The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility within an hour of the terrorist attack. “India had no reason to doubt where it came from,” Tharoor said, hinting at Pakistan-backed terrorism without naming it.
The Modi government’s prompt response in sending a united political delegation to different countries around the world, one of which is led by Tharoor himself, sent a strong message of resolve and national solidarity. Though a section of opposition is rattled by the formation of all-party delegation and selection of likes of Tharoor, Centre’s strategy of involving all voices, even those ideologically different, added credibility to India’s narrative and details of Operation Sindoor on global platforms.
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