The fallout from the US-Iran war has reached the Indian opposition, with two top Congress leaders exchanging barbs through open letters over a comment on the Iran war. In a public display of disagreement over Shashi Tharoor’s stance on the US-Iran war, senior leader Mani Shankar Aiyar wrote an open letter in which he described Shashi Tharoor’s views as an “unprincipled, unethical and transactional approach to public policy.” Track updates on the US-Iran war
Tharoor responded to Aiyar’s open letter with another open letter, reported by NDTV, in which he made it clear that he views international affairs from a “nationalist perspective, and places India’s interests, security and global standing at the center of every discussion.”
What Mani Shankar Aiyar said
Aiyar wrote an open letter to Tharoor, published in Frontline magazine, in which he said he was “shocked to the core” by his answers about the Iran-US war during a television interview on March 6, 2026, in which Aiyar described the war as “an illegal and sinful war on Iran by Israel in cooperation with the United States and the West in general.” Follow updates on the conflict in West Asia
“I am horrified by your shameful endorsement last night of ‘might is right’,” Aiyar wrote. “You say you fully understand why Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is so wary of confronting the Americans: fear of the ‘consequences’ for India, especially its economy.”
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Aiyar launched a rather scathing attack on Tharoor and said: “There were many like you when the nation was struggling for freedom. They were what VS Naipaul scathingly called ‘Jamshid to Jimmy’ – collaborators with the regime. Of course, now that the imperialists are gone, you have emerged as a very knowledgeable critic of the excesses of the empire.”
“Your performance at the Oxford Union was absolutely brilliant,” Aiyar wrote, “and controversial beyond compare. But the point is that the British left before you went to Oxford, and that’s how you found your voice. The Americans haven’t gone, so you grovel before them. This is what happens when Jaishankar-type ‘pragmatism’ overtakes morality. And twins with it.”
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In another sharp attack, Aiyar wrote: “Are you really courting Narendra Modi because he can give you an opportunity that the opposition cannot give you? I do not support this view, although the evidence is strong that this is the reason behind you rejoicing and showcasing your visits abroad as Chairman of the Standing Committee.”
Shashi Tharoor replied
Tharoor responded to the Aiyar open letter with another open letter in which he said his approach to international affairs comes from a clearly nationalist perspective with India’s interests, security and global standing as a priority. “Acknowledging the geopolitical realities and consequences for India’s economy and strategic location is not ‘moral capitulation’; it is responsible governance,” Tharoor wrote.
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A senior Congress leader shared the message on his profile
Tharoor also referred to Jawaharlal Nehru and said: “From Nehru’s policy of non-alignment to today’s complex multiplicity of alignments in an increasingly multipolar world, the goal has remained constant: to protect India’s sovereignty while speaking for global justice.”
He said that in one of his recent columns, he described the Iranian war as “illegitimate.” “You have explicitly described the illegality of the current war, pointed out its devastating consequences, and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. It is unfortunate that you seem to have missed this clear statement of principles.”
“My point is simple: While war violates the principles we stand for, jeopardizing the many other strategic interests we have with the United States would be unwise,” he said.
Responding to Aiyar’s criticism of his visits abroad, Tharoor said the allegations were “below contempt” and termed his claims of pleasing the Prime Minister as “baseless slander”.
“Apart from the Sindoor process, where I was part of and led an all-party delegation, all my foreign travel is in my personal capacity. They are not requested, organized or funded by the government. I receive far more international invitations than I can accept, none of which have anything to do with my position as committee chair. (In our parliamentary system, official travel is done by the chair of the committee, not the chair of the committee.) The suggestion that I ‘please the Prime Minister’ to secure travel is baseless slander,” Tharoor wrote, adding: Disagreement over the “how” of foreign policy is normal. But to misread principled pragmatism as a lack of conviction is a failure of assessment.”
Tharoor also criticized Aiyar, saying, “One does not have to be carried in the arms of Mahatma Gandhi” to admire his legacy.
Aiyar had mentioned in his letter how Mahatma Gandhi carried him and his brother in his arms and how his association with Gandhi affected him. “My moral world has always been derived from what the Mahatma represented,” Aiyar wrote. “From clay, we are made into men.”
