Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday clarified his use of the word “drama” in a social media post on the Nepal flash floods, saying he used it to relate the situation involving “intensely clashing forces” and not to diminish the scale of the tragedy.

Tharoor, who previously travelled to Kathmandu, wrote on X that he had arrived “Took off for Katmandu yesterday, blissfully unaware of the drama that had taken place in the hills and caused such catastrophic damage. A severe, sudden flash flood struck northern Nepal’s Rasuwa district near the Tibet border, causing widespread destruction along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers. Global warming and/or an earthquake in Tibet may have caused a large chunk of a glacier to break off and fall into the valley below, experts surmise.”

Took off for Katmandu yesterday, blissfully unaware of the drama that had taken place in the hills and caused such catastrophic damage. A severe, sudden flash flood struck northern Nepal’s Rasuwa district near the Tibet border, causing widespread destruction along the Bhote… pic.twitter.com/qxcDJgEK8C

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 27, 2026

The word “drama” drew criticism online, leading Tharoor to clarify what he meant. “For all those fulminating in outrage about my use of the word ‘drama’ in my first tweet from Nepal, the word does not only mean something theatrical,” Tharoor wrote in a thread post.

He cited another dictionary definition of the word saying, “a state, situation or series of events involving intensely clashing forces” and said that was the sense in which he had intended it.

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“That’s the sense in which I intended it. But I do regret the choice of a word that could be so easily misinterpreted,” he added.

For all those fulminating in outrage about my use of the word “drama” in my first tweet from Nepal, the word does not only mean something theatrical. It is also defined as “a state, situation or series of events involving intensely clashing forces”. That’s the sense in which I… https://t.co/CN62vO7WH2

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 28, 2026

Currently, the death toll from the Nepal flash floods has climbed to 469, while over 1,000 people remain missing.

Rescue teams are digging huge stretches of mud and debris with heavy machinery, helicopters, and sniffer dogs as they search for survivors and those still unaccounted for. Damaged roads and bridges, along with difficult terrain, have hampered access to several of the worst-hit areas.

Authorities are also racing against time to rescue around 100 people trapped inside a tunnel at a hydropower project that was inundated by the floods two days ago.