Shashi Tharoor Faces Backlash Over Nepal Flood Comments

Indian Congress MP Shashi Tharoor faced social media backlash on August 27, 2026, after describing catastrophic flash floods in Nepal as "drama that had taken place in the hills." The comments followed a disaster in northern Nepal's Rasuwa district that left over 2,000 people missing, including approximately 100 Indian tourists participating in the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.

The floods caused extensive infrastructure damage, destroying 19 motorable bridges, damaging eight hydropower projects, and washing away 40 kilometers of the Betrawati-Rasuwagadhi highway. Experts suggest the event may have been triggered by global warming or a glacier break caused by an earthquake in Tibet.

While Tharoor expressed concern for the victims and voiced support for the Indian government's pledge of immediate relief assistance, critics panned his phrasing as insensitive. Tharoor noted he had traveled to Kathmandu unaware of the scale of the destruction occurring in the hills.