‘Who on earth would troll…’: Shashi Tharoor, IAS association fire back at online hate against Vikram Misri, family

India-Pakistan conflict: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor came to the defence of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri amid a wave of online trolls following the announcement of a ceasefire "understanding" between India and Pakistan.

Voicing his frustration over the backlash, Tharoor told NDTV, “I can't understand who on earth would troll and why? What could they be critical of, and what could these people have done differently or better?”

IAS Association condemns trolling

The Association of Indian Diplomats, also strongly condemned the “trolling,” stating that it was “appalling and completely unacceptable.”

Trolls against Vikram Misri

In the wake of India’s precision strikes on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor—on May 7—Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri emerged as a key figure, articulating India’s strategic stance throughout the crisis.

However, following Misri's announcement on May 10 that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full ceasefire across land, air, and sea, Misri found himself the target of a coordinated online trolling campaign. The backlash included attacks on his patriotism and even escalated to the doxing of his family’s personal details.

Earlier, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi ahd also slammed trolls for targeting Misri. "Mr Vikram Misri is a decent and an Honest Hard working Diplomat working tirelessly for our Nation. Our Civil Servants work under the Executive this must be remembered & they shouldn’t be blamed for the decisions taken by The Executive /or any Political leadership running Watan E Aziz (beloved country," Owaisi said in a post on X.

Vikram Misri's X account locked

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had locked his X account on Sunday after the online trolls.

Vikram Misri's career in the bureaucracy

Vikram Misri assumed charge as India's Foreign Secretary on July 15, 2024. A 1989- batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Ambassador Misri has served in various capacities at the Ministry of External Affairs, in the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi and in various Indian Missions abroad in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.

“Apart from serving as the Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, he has also served as Private Secretary to three Prime Ministers of India IK Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi,” reads his profile on MEA website.