‘Your command over language…’: Shashi Tharoor’s Nepal flood Post sparks backlash

After Shashi Tharoor's post on the devastation in Nepal, social media users questioned his word choice.

3 min readNew DelhiAug 27, 2026 09:52 AM IST

Nepal floods: Shashi Tharoor highlighted the impact on Indians in the region (Photo: Shashi Tharoor/X, Instagram)

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s post expressing concern over the deadly flash floods in Nepal has drawn criticism on social media, with users taking issue with his description of the disaster as “the drama that had taken place in the hills”.

In an X post, Tharoor, who said he arrived in Kathmandu unaware of the devastation, expressed solidarity with victims, and supported India’s relief assistance to Nepal.

“Took off for Kathmandu yesterday, blissfully unaware of the drama that had taken place in the hills and caused such catastrophic damage,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP wrote.

“Learned on arrival of the loss of life (now confirmed at 160 so far) and the fact that some 2000 or more people are estimated to be missing. Raging floodwaters destroyed at least 19 motorable bridges, washed away roughly 40 km of the Betrawati–Rasuwagadhi highway, and heavily damaged eight operational hydropower projects. I fully support the Indian government’s immediate pledge of relief assistance. Nepal needs all the help it can get,” he said.

“My heart goes out to the victims and their loved ones, who include large numbers of Indian tourists, including a hundred performing the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra. Prayers for the missing; may they be rescued soon.”

He also highlighted the impact on Indians in the region, including tourists and around 100 people undertaking the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.

See the post here:

Took off for Katmandu yesterday, blissfully unaware of the drama that had taken place in the hills and caused such catastrophic damage. A severe, sudden flash flood struck northern Nepal’s Rasuwa district near the Tibet border, causing widespread destruction along the Bhote… pic.twitter.com/qxcDJgEK8C

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 27, 2026

‘This is what you came up with?’

The post has since gained traction, with some social media users criticising Tharoor’s choice of words for the disaster.

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“We ruined the environment, and now the environment is ruining us. That’s it,” a user wrote.

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“‘unaware of the drama” poor choice of words for someone with such a rich vocabulary,” another user commented.

“Drama?? You are a wordsmith and this is what you came up with? Really,” a third user reacted.

“”drama” !! didn’t expect it, especially given your command over the language!!” a fourth user chimed in.

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