Journalist Ishaan Tharoor Faces Plagiarism Allegations Over New Yorker Column by Reporter Nikash Harapanahalli

PROMINENT JOURNALIST ISHAAN THAROOR, son of senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, has been accused of plagiarism by a New York City-based reporter Nikash Harapanahalli. Nikash, whose work focuses on South-Asia, diplomacy, and pluralism, has alleged that an article of his published in The Juggernaut bore many similarities to Tharoor’s latest column for The New Yorker.

Nikash’s piece, titled “The Sultan and the Star Sprangled Banner: Mysore’s rockets did more than terrify the British. They may have helped America win its independence,” was published on The Juggernaut’s website on June 22, 2026. The write-up draws a parallel between the American Revolutionary War and the Indian ruler Hyder Ali of Mysore, who fought against British forces.

Taking to X, Nikash quoted Ishaan’s tweet wherein his New York column was hyperlinked, and wrote: “I was hurt and surprised to discover that this column looks almost identical to the piece I published on 6/22 for @thejuggernaut. My piece isn’t something you'd easily find online: it took days of archival work & conversations with researchers.”

Ishaan’s column for The New Yorker, titled “Why the Last Battle of the American Revolution Was Fought In India,” was published on the news outlet’s website on July 2, 2026. The column is similar to Nikash’s article in theme, as it similarly framed the American Revolutionary War in the context of Sultan Hyder Ali’s campaign against the Britishers. 

Ishaan Tharoor has just recently been appointed as a global-affairs columnist at The New Yorker. Replying to Nikash’s X post, Ishaan remarked that he pitched his story idea to his editors long before Nikash’ article was published, and further commented that he has not read or cited Nikash’s work.

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“This is a story I pitched in writing to my editors on June 5 [2026]. I do not have access to read your story, so I haven’t read or cited it. There’s ample popular scholarship and writing on the subject out there and I’m glad you have contributed to it,” read Ishaan’s reply on X.

A spokesperson for The New Yorker, speaking to The Print, too has echoed Ishaan’s claim, stating that the columnist has been working on his piece even before Nikash’s article was published on The Juggernaut.

In an email correspondence, The New Yorker spokesperson stated: “Ishaan Tharoor pitched and began working on his column about the conflict in Mysore in the context of the American Revolution in early June, well before The Juggernaut article was published. Ishaan independently researched and wrote the column, and it was carefully edited and fact-checked by New Yorker staff. We stand by the originality of Ishaan’s work.”

The Juggernaut too has come forward to defend Nikash’s and his original work. Tulika Bose, a senior editor at the news outlet, has vouched for Nikash’s in an X post. “@nikash_hara is our editorial intern, and I can attest that he spent a very long time on the original piece,” she wrote.

X has become abuzz with controversy ever since Nikash accused Ishaan of plagiarizing his article. While some users have favored Nikash seeing his previous work in covering historical events and sources, others have called upon the writer to provide some solid evidence to bolster his claims.  

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What is the controversy and the claims Nikash made?

In an X threat posted on his account on June 3, 2026, Nikash pointed out the structural similarities and other overlap that his article and Ishaan’s column share. Posting side-by-side screenshots of both the articles, Nikash highlighted how both his article and Ishaan’s column have the same starting point: both start with the Hyder Ally ship, the battle of Delaware Bay, and the Freneau poem. Additionally, Nikash also alleged that both the articles have similar archival quotes and sources, including letters and toasts presented in a similar sequential manner.

Underscoring his Mysorean-American origins, Nikash commented that his article was “personal and important” to him, and expressed doubts about how an established Journalist's article could bore similar structure and context as his original work.

(Edited by Anshika Verma)

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