'Will not be silenced by terrorism': Shashi Tharoor sends strong message as delegation departs for US

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday said that the delegation he is leading to the United States will inform global partners about India's own experience with terrorism and the rationale behind its current approach.

In a video message posted on X, Tharoor said, "I'm heading off to five countries leading an all-party delegation to Guyana, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the United States, and the reason we are going is to speak for the nation, to speak about this horrendous crisis we were subjected to in which our country was attacked by terrorists in the cruellest possible way."

The MP further said that the delegation will highlight the values India stands for and why they need to be upheld in today’s world.

Tharoor said, "We need to speak up with clarity and conviction for our country, for our response and to give the world the message that we will not be silenced by terrorism and we don't want the world to look away either. We don't want indifference to triumph over the truth. It's a mission of peace. It's a mission of hope. And it's a mission that will one day remind the world that India stands for all the values we need to preserve in the world today of peace, of democracy, of freedom, and not of hatred, killing and of terror. Jai Hind".

The team will also pay respects at the 9/11 memorial in the US and take part in Guyana’s independence day celebrations.

"We will be visiting the 9-11 memorial and remind the world that we, like the people they are thinking about there, were victims of a terrorist attack and not just this one, but a repeated series of terrorist attacks for the last four decades," Tharoor told PTI.

The delegation includes MPs from across the political spectrum, such as Shashank Mani Tripathi, Milind Deora, and Sarfaraz Ahmad, along with former Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Their joint message is clear: India stands united against terrorism and is ready to partner globally for peace and security.

Tharoor on Friday also took a swipe at US president Donald Trump for claiming credit for settling hostilities between India and Pakistan, saying that no formal process of mediation was either requested or conducted by any third party.

"During any crisis, there's always contact with those countries that call and reach out. We have taken the same line everywhere. There's been no formal process of mediation, either requested or conducted. You call me, I tell you what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, and that's it. Then, if you want to go and repeat that to somebody else and they take certain consequences as a result of that, is that called mediation? I don't think so. Not in my vocabulary," Tharoor had said.