Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday praised India’s position on the ongoing West Asia conflict, describing it as an example of “responsible statecraft” rather than a “moral surrender.”
Tharoor said India should have promptly issued condolences on the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, as it had done earlier when the country’s president died in a helicopter crash.
“But I will not condemn the government for choosing silence over confrontation,” he said in an article written for the Indian Express.
Tharoor’s remarks diverge from those of several colleagues in the Congress party, who have questioned India’s muted response to the conflict, which began after joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28.
Days earlier, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in an article published in the same newspaper, had said that the Indian government's stand on the killing of Iran's leader was not neutral, but an "abdication" of responsibility.
Tharoor, a former top diplomat at the United Nations, however, argued that India’s foreign policy has historically balanced principle with pragmatism. “Today, in an increasingly multipolar world, India practises 'multi-alignment' — engaging with diverse powers, sometimes in tension with one another, while keeping our national interest paramount,” he wrote.
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He pointed out that India has, in the past, chosen silence when principles clashed with national interest, citing New Delhi’s reluctance to condemn Soviet interventions in Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia (1968), and Afghanistan (1979). Such restraint, he said, did not signal endorsement but reflected a pragmatic assessment of geopolitical costs.
Tharoor emphasised that India has significant stakes in both the United States and the Gulf region. Publicly condemning the US-Israeli military action against Iran, he argued, could risk these key relationships.
“It would jeopardise remittances that sustain millions of Indian households, energy supplies that fuel our economy, and trade ties that underpin our growth. Silence, in this context, is not cowardice. It is a sober recognition of the interconnectedness of our national interests with the realities of the region,” he wrote.
He also underlined the need to acknowledge the nature of Donald Trmp administration, arguing that while the war may violate principles India stands for, undermining broader strategic ties with the United States would be unwise.
Reiterating India’s long-standing support for global justice at multilateral forums, Tharoor said the country has also known “when to hold its tongue”.
“That balance is the essence of responsible statecraft,” he added.
Taking a swipe at critics demanding a stronger condemnation, Tharoor said some “mistake moral absolutism for moral courage” and overlook the realities of foreign policy. “India’s silence is not an endorsement of that war. It is a recognition that our national interest requires prudence, not posturing,” he wrote.
Tharoor’s remarks diverge from those of several colleagues in the Congress party, who have questioned India’s muted response to the conflict, which began after joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28.
