'Learning From British Museum': Shashi Tharoor Quips After Indian Influencer's Bike Stolen In UK

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, known for his apt dig at the British Raj over Colonialism, has once again garnered attention with his remarks after the bike of a Mumbai influencer was stolen in England's Nottingham.

Reacting to the incident, Tharoor took to X and said, "They're learning from the British Museum!" Tharoor passed the chuckle-drawing comment in response to a media post asking him to respond to the bike theft.

Tharoor's remarks drew special attention because of his past quips at the British. Earlier in 2018, he said that British Museums were 'chor bazars' (thieves markets) of exhibits looted from the colonies.

He had further added that while there was an Imperial War Museum, there wasn’t a museum of imperialism.

At another event, Tharoor quoted a famous saying, "No wonder the sun never set on the British Empire." He mockingly added "because even God couldn't trust the English in the dark", to the saying, which garnered huge applause at the 2015 Oxford Union debate event.

What is the incident?

The Mumbai-based influencer named Yogesh Alekari started a world bike tour on his KTM bike in May. So far, he has covered 17 countries and 24,000 km. On August 28, his bike was stolen from Nottingham. He was to travel to Africa after the UK.

He had also lost his money, passport, and other documents, which were kept on the bike. Alekari reached out to the Indian Embassy, where assistance was provided to him. 

In an Instagram reel, he later shared the information that he got his passport and the Indian embassy had helped him. The embassy has been in the loop and has contacted the local authorities to provide further assistance, he added.