Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri locked his X (formerly called Twitter) account on Sunday after suffering intense online harassment following the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Critics, primarily from right-wing Indian accounts, called him a “traitor” as a result of his involvement in the ceasefire to end a four-day military standoff.
Misri received abusive and personal attacks, including targeted abuse towards his daughter for studying abroad and providing legal aid to Rohingya refugees through the UN.
The ceasefire, negotiated by U.S. President Donald Trump on May 10, ended hostilities that had begun with India conducting Operation Sindoor on May 7.
India had blamed Pakistan for an April insurgent attack in Pahalgam, but did not share evidence. On May 9, Pakistan began Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos, as reprisal, concentrating its forces on the Indian military sites. The ceasefire has evoked conflicting views with derisive critics accusing Misri of compromising India's "military advantage."
The government of India, through external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, has not spoken out against the trolling or defended Misri. Analysts say the silence points to wider political strife, as far-right groups could meer out a lot of scrutiny to an alleged ceasefire.
While Misri has not yet began to staff out any diplomatic briefing in relation to the ceasefire, he has also not collectively commentated since this former incident, which garnered huge attention in Indian media circles.