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“It’s about terrorism, not religion”: Tharoor on Pahalgam attack and Op. Sindoor
Tharoor said that the aim was not to internationalize bilateral tensions but to underscore how terrorism threatens India’s democratic and economic progress.
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Lalit K Jha - Thu, 05, Jun 2025
- 03:16 EDT
- 27
Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor / Courtesy of Lalit K Jha
Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the Apr.22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir must be understood as “pure and simple” terrorism, not through the lens of religion or Indo-Pakistan politics. “This is about terrorism. It's not about religion, it's not about communal issues, it's not about bilateral India-Pakistan historical antecedents,” Tharoor said during a media briefing at the Indian Embassy on June 4.
Tharoor was responding to a question about whether Western powers continue to draw false equivalence between India and Pakistan in the context of terrorism. “I don't think so,” he said. “That's exactly the answer the three of us have been giving… We're not there with a message about India versus Pakistan. It's about India as a democracy facing terror.”
Tharoor, who was part of a cross-party delegation visiting the United States, emphasized that the aim was not to internationalize bilateral tensions but to underscore how terrorism threatens India’s democratic and economic progress.
He pointed to the progress in Kashmir, highlighting a tourism boom and economic growth prior to the attacks. “Even Kashmir was a story of prosperity, of booming economy. I told the Americans we had more tourists in Kashmir last year than Aspen, Colorado, received,” Tharoor said. He added that the region saw a 100 percent rise in tourist numbers in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.
“This is the kind of thing these terrorists are trying to target,” he said. “It is undermining the India growth story, undermining the Kashmiri economy, trying to promote alienation.”
Tharoor described how the attackers had reportedly singled out victims based on religion and recounted a chilling moment: “When one horrified wife screamed, ‘Kill me too,’ they said, ‘No, you go back and tell them.’ They wanted a backlash from India. They wanted a communal backlash.”
He praised the Indian public for not giving in to such provocations. “I must say I’m so proud of my countrymen and women… the way in which the country rallied together and stayed united on this.”
Tharoor also referred to Operation Sindoor, the recent counter-terror operation in J&K. “You remember the briefings—that of the three briefers, two were women and one was a Muslim woman officer. All these allegations that none of our delegations go out without at least one Muslim member—sometimes more.”
He criticized Pakistan’s continued role in harboring terrorism. “They created, incubated, nurtured, financed, guided and gave facilities in safe haven and land to these terrorists.”
BJP MP Shashank Mani Tripathi, part of the same delegation, supported the claim that the global community is more receptive to India’s position. “There is a view that this is not just an India problem... But indeed it’s a global problem,” he said. “What has happened in Boulder, Colorado is an indication of that.” 12 people were injured during a pro-Israel demonstration in Colorado on June 1, after an Egyptian national attacked them.
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