Nirupama's tweet sparks row

Former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has expressed concern over growing “McCarthyism” in India in a post on Twitter, triggering a debate.

“I worry about the rising tide of McCarthyism in India. Hate, unreasonableness, intolerant rants. It's not who we are. Cry, the beloved country,” she recently posted on Twitter.

The term “McCarthyism” is used to refer to the practice of accusing people of subversion and treason, without any evidence against them. It was coined in 1950, in reference to US Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Nirupama, a 1973 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, served as India’s foreign secretary from 2009 to 2011. She was also India’s ambassador to the United States from 2011 to 2013.

Her tweet triggered a debate on the micro-blogging website.

A Twitter user asked her if she thought what she found objectionable was not in India during the reign of erstwhile Congress-led UPA government.

“No, let us not delude ourselves. The rot has been settling in for a long time,” responded Nirupama.

“I am only urging that we should move away from intolerance. It is my country and I would never betray it. As a senior citizen I can counsel,” she tweeted later.