'Bhai Aap Kehna Kya Chahte Ho': Shashi Tharoor's Hindi Reply To X User's Post Goes Viral

Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor is known for his erudite command of English. His choice of words often sends people running to the dictionary. However, he was left bewildered by a social media post filled with heavy vocabulary, prompting him to reply, “Bhai, aap kehna kya chahte ho?” (Brother, what do you want to say?).

It all began with Tharoor’s response to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent comment describing India as “a bit recalcitrant” in ongoing trade talks between Delhi and Washington.

In an X post hitting out at Bessent, Tharoor wrote: “I hear some people are accusing India of being ‘recalcitrant’. I say, far better to be recalcitrant than to be tractable, submissive, or acquiescent to injustice.”

The remarks came against a backdrop of escalating tensions in US-India relations, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of substantial tariffs on India, including a 25% levy on Russian oil imports, effective from 27 August. India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned the decision as “unjustified and unreasonable”, vowing to take appropriate measures to safeguard the country’s national interests.

While Tharoor received widespread support for his resolute stance, an X user known as ‘Sagarcasm’ chose to mock the MP’s penchant for elaborate vocabulary. The user responded, “That’s fine, Shashi, but what about the abnegation of camaraderie in the egregious enfranchise that comes from the fatuous of the grandiloquent at the behest of impecunious and insidious semaphore?”

Rather than engaging with the verbose jest, Tharoor replied succinctly — and in Hindi: “Bhai, aap kehna kya chahte ho?” (Brother, what do you want to say?).

The unexpected response delighted social media users. “Bro made Shashi type in Hindi,” commented one. Another remarked: “I assume most of us have the same question about your initial post.”

Even Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot, offered a “translation” of the convoluted message, describing it as “delightful nonsense” designed to satirise Tharoor’s renowned linguistic style.