Members of an Indian all-party delegation, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, paid solemn tribute at the 9/11 Memorial in New York on Saturday (local time), marking the start of their diplomatic outreach in the United States. The visit forms part of India’s global effort to underline its united stance against terrorism.
Alongside Tharoor were MPs Ganti Harish Madhur, Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Milind Deora, and former Indian Ambassador to the U.S., Taranjit Singh Sandhu. They were joined by India’s Ambassador to the U.S., Vinay Mohan Kwatra. The delegation members offered white roses and stood in silent tribute, folding their hands in a gesture of respect.
The 9/11 Memorial, located at the World Trade Center site in New York, honours the 2,977 victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the six who died in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. A symbol of resilience and remembrance, it served as a poignant starting point for the delegation’s message on global unity against terrorism.
The visit to the United States is part of a broader multi-nation tour that includes Guyana, Panama, Brazil, and Colombia. The delegation, comprising MPs from Congress, BJP, Shiv Sena, LJP, JMM, and TDP, aims to reinforce India’s zero-tolerance approach to terrorism and present a unified national front through bipartisan representation.
Delegation members include Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), and Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena).
This outreach is part of India’s diplomatic campaign following Operation Sindoor, a military response launched on May 7 to the deadly April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, where 26 civilians were killed. The Indian Armed Forces targeted terrorist infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, eliminating over 100 militants linked to terror groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling and drone strikes, prompting India to carry out coordinated strikes damaging key military infrastructure across 11 Pakistani airbases. The escalation concluded with a mutually agreed cessation of hostilities on May 10.
Seven separate parliamentary delegations are currently representing India’s message of national unity and a firm anti-terror policy across multiple global capitals. The Tharoor-led group will use its engagements in the Western Hemisphere to further India’s call for international cooperation in eradicating terrorism in all its forms.