Brasilia, June 03: The all-party Indian parliamentary delegation currently visiting Brazil held what has been described as an “excellent” and “highly productive” series of meetings with top Brazilian officials, focusing on India’s policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and the significance of Operation Sindoor.
The Brazilian leadership expressed sympathy with India, condemned the Pakistani-backed terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, and extended their solidarity with the Indian people. Led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, the delegation reaffirmed that India doesn’t want to make Pakistan a part of itself, but wants peace and prosperity of its people, without the fear of cross-border terrorism.
The Indian leaders met Filipe Barros, President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Defence in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies.
Barros affirmed Brazil’s support for India following the dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam. During the meeting, Tharoor strongly criticised Pakistan for harbouring and promoting terrorism.
“We don’t want to recapture Pakistan or make it part of India again — nothing like that. We want to be left alone to grow and to promote prosperity and the well-being of our people. That’s the Indian story for centuries. Why would we want distraction or war? It’s not us who want war and conflict, it all comes from the other side,” Tharoor said.
“We want the world to understand why we took this action because we were left with no choice. You (Pakistan) leave us alone, we will leave you alone. But if you hurt us with terrorism, then we will reply to you like this.”
“There is a term — sub-conventional warfare. It’s a particularly nasty technique because they (Pakistan) like to hit civilians and our innocent people. They can’t defeat us in a conventional war, so they try these things. We don’t believe in terrorism, but if they hit us with terrorists, then we will hit them with a conventional war.”
“We will use our Indian Air Force, Army, and Navy. We will target their places, so they should understand. The best thing is to stop this, dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and arrest the perpetrators. But they don’t, because unfortunately, that is what the country Pakistan has become,” Tharoor added.
When asked by a Brazilian official if Mahatma Gandhi would have given Kashmir away for peace, Tharoor responded firmly, “I’d be very surprised if any Indian leader would do that. Mahatma Gandhi never wanted to respond to someone pointing a gun at your head by surrendering. The message we were taught when the British were coming with their police or guns was to stand straight against them. Gandhi was in a tough position because many people were injured, some fatally. One of our national heroes, Lala Lajpat Rai, was hit on the head by a British officer with his rifle. Violence has been resisted by our national heroes. Mahatma Gandhi never admitted surrender to the British. Today’s India will not surrender either. If Pakistan thinks we will surrender — sorry, we will not.”
Federal Deputy Filipe Barros acknowledged the shared challenges faced by both democracies.
“Brazil and India have many similarities, like the diversity of our people, and this diversity is a landmark for our nations. Our challenges are also similar. In Brazil, we have organised crime and drug trafficking. We can collaborate on these issues. We are studying organised crime and terrorist organisations; we’ve even written on them. I suggest submitting a joint declaration of solidarity with the Indian people concerning terrorism to our commission,” he said.
The delegation met Senator Nelsinho Trad, President of the India-Brazil Friendship Front and the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
Following the meeting, Tharoor posted on X, “Excellent & highly productive meeting with Senator Nelsinho Trad, President of the India-Brazil Friendship Front & President of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. Deeply appreciate his insightful understanding & strong endorsement of India’s perspective on recent events. Such solidarity strengthens the bonds between our democracies!”
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, a member of the delegation, also posted on X, “India and Brazil share a deeply valued partnership across multiple multilateral platforms. We discussed the significance of Operation Sindoor and collaborative efforts to address terrorism.”
The Indian delegation also held discussions with Ambassador Celso Amorim, the Diplomatic Advisor to the Brazilian President, at the Presidential Palace in Brasilia. Amorim, Brazil’s longest-serving Foreign Minister and a former Defence Minister, engaged in what Tharoor described as a full and rewarding dialogue.
“Our day in Brasilia began with a visit to the Presidential Palace, where we met with my old friend, Ambassador Celso Amorim. A full and rewarding discussion followed,” Tharoor said.
“We discussed our position of zero tolerance to terrorism and Operation Sindoor. In a long and frank conversation, he expressed deep support, sympathy, and condemned the Pakistani attack. He highlighted how terrorism is a global threat and that all countries must come together to address it. Brazil, a longstanding ally of India, stands with us in this combat against terror,” Surya said.
Speaking to IANS following the high-level meetings, Tharoor said, “It has been a very good visit so far, and we are very pleased with the quality of meetings we’ve had in all four countries we’ve visited. In Brasilia today, we met with the senior diplomatic advisor to the President… Our conversation concluded with a full understanding of our position.”
“We also had an excellent meeting with the Chairman of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, who is also the President of the India-Brazil Friendship Group. He was very supportive and receptive to our explanations and points of view. And finally, we met with the Acting Foreign Minister, who was absolutely on board with us — very understanding and receptive of what we had to say,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Indian delegation also met Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who extended heartfelt solidarity to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Speaking to IANS, Alckmin said, “It is a great honour and joy to receive the President of the Indian Parliament Foreign Relations Commission, Shashi Tharoor, along with the members of Parliament and our Indian Ambassador in Brazil. We are happy and honoured, as Brazil is a friendly country and a significant commercial partner of India. We extend our solidarity to the victims of the attack. Brazil has always been a promoter of peace and understanding, and we aim to strengthen our relationship with India.”
Apart from Tharoor, the delegation includes Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Shambhavi Choudhary, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Sarfaraz Ahmad, Telugu Desam Party MP GM Harish Balayogi, Bharatiya Janata Party MPs — Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Tejasvi Surya, Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora and Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
The delegation’s visit to Brazil marks the latest stop in India’s global diplomatic outreach campaign to highlight Operation Sindoor and reinforce its position against Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism.
