‘Peace is necessary for us’: Tharoor says as Congress highlights 1971 war

New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that India’s 1971 victory over Pakistan was a ‘great achievement’ but made it clear that ‘the circumstances of 1971 are not the circumstances of 2025. There are differences’, according to NDTV.

Thiruvananthapuram MP made the observation while talking to news agency ANI in the wake of the ceasefire amid escalating tension between India and Pakistan.

Without directly referring to the Congress’ social media campaign highlighting India’s 1971 victory over Pakistan, Tharoor said that ‘peace is necessary for us’, pointing out that the escalation was ‘needlessly getting out of control’.

The Congress in a social media campaign attempted to contrast Indira Gandhi’s leadership during Bangladesh liberation war with PM Modi administration’s response to Pakistan amid escalating tensions following India’s Operation Sindoor.

The grand old party’s social media posts appeared to be a swipe at Prime Minister Modi over the ceasefire with BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asking what action then UPA government had taken after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Emphasizing the importance of peace, Tharoor reportedly said: ‘We have suffered a lot, ask the people of Poonch, how many have died. I am not saying we should stop wars. When there are reasons to continue them, we should continue. But this was not a war we intended to continue. We just wanted to teach terrorists a lesson. That lesson has been taught.’

Tharoor hoped that India would continue ‘ track down’ the terrorists behind the Pahalamgam massacre that claimed 26 lives, saying that ‘That is indispensable. It may not happen overnight, it may take months, years, but we will have to do it.’

‘No one should be allowed to get away with killing innocent Indian civilians. But that doesn't mean we should put the entire nation at risk in a prolonged war,’ he added.

Calling upon the country to focus on the prosperity and well-being of its citizens, he said there was no ‘reason to risk more lives’ in this particular conflict, referring to the situation over the past a few days.

While referring to the 1971 victory a ‘great achievement’, Tharoor said that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ‘rewrote’ the map of the subcontinent, thus help forming Bangladesh, adding that ‘Today's Pakistan is a different situation. Their equipment, military equipment, the damage they can do, everything is different’.

India, according to him, was fighting a moral cause in the Bangladesh liberation, to bring people to freedom but today ‘this is a different story. We would have ended up with a much longer, protracted conflict with a lot of loss of lives on both sides. Is this the biggest priority for India today?’