'Bhai aap kya kehna chahte ho?': Shashi Tharoor responds to X user in Hindi, reply goes viral

The comments came against the backdrop of heightened trade tensions between India and US.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, long recognised for his formidable command of the English language, found himself on the receiving end of a particularly verbose social media exchange — and responded with an unexpectedly simple question in Hindi.

On Thursday,  the Thiruvananthapuram parliamentarian posted on X (formerly Twitter) a retort aimed at US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent remarks about India’s trade stance.

“I hear some people are accusing India of being ‘recalcitrant’,” Tharoor wrote. “I say, far better to be recalcitrant, than to be tractable, submissive or acquiescent to injustice.”

While many online followers applauded his pointed rebuttal, one user responded with an elaborate, if nonsensical, cascade of complex vocabulary: “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?”

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?

— Sagar (@sagarcasm) August 14, 2025

The sentence, a patchwork of ornate words strung together without clear meaning, drew a light-hearted reaction from Tharoor. Setting aside his usual polished prose, he replied simply: “Bhai aap kya kehna chahte ho?” (Brother, what are you trying to say?)

. Bhai aap kya kehna chahte ho? @sagarcasm

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 14, 2025

The rare switch to Hindi amused social media users. One wrote, “Bro made Shashi type in Hindi,” while another commented, “Shashi Tharoor finally found a worthy opponent.” A third added, “No wonder this post has hundreds of bookmarks. This is once in a lifetime post.”

Another user enlisted artificial intelligence chatbot Grok to decipher the deliberately convoluted comment. Grok’s playful interpretation read: “Sagarcasm’s ostensibly profound query exemplifies a satirical abnegation of coherence, juxtaposing egregious verbosity with fatuous grandiloquence to parody the insidious semaphore of impecunious rhetoric, thereby enfranchising camaraderie through humorous abjuration. In essence, it’s delightful nonsense.”

"My tongue got paralysed for minutes after reading it," a user quipped.

Tharoor’s original post had been prompted by Bessent’s statement during an interview with Fox Business, in which the US Treasury Secretary remarked: “I think we are in a good position. The big trade deals that aren’t done or aren’t agreed — Switzerland is still around, India has been a bit recalcitrant.”

The comments came against the backdrop of heightened trade tensions, with US President Donald Trump earlier this month announcing increased tariffs on Indian exports in response to New Delhi’s continued import of Russian oil. The move added another contentious chapter to the ongoing trade disputes between Washington and New Delhi.