New Delhi: Bollywood actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut faced criticism on social media after she described the devastating flash floods affecting Nepal and the Tibet region as a tragedy that “started from China”.

“Beyond tragic… everyone is talking about Nepal but no one really knows the magnitude of tragedy in China apparently it started from China,” Kangana wrote in a post on X.

Her remark triggered a debate among social media users, with several pointing out that the area affected on the Chinese side is Tibet, and questioning her reference to the incident as being in “China”.

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The controversy comes as Nepal continues to deal with the aftermath of catastrophic flash floods and mudslides along its northern border. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said 826 people were missing and the death toll from the floods had risen to 165 on Thursday.

Rescue teams were searching for survivors after torrents of water and mud swept through several communities along the Nepal-China border following a glacial collapse.

Meanwhile, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that 558 people were missing in Tibet, including 260 foreigners, while two villagers had been rescued. At least three people had died as of Thursday morning, according to the report.

Why Kangana’s Tibet remark drew attention

The debate over Kangana’s wording also comes against the backdrop of India’s official diplomatic position on Tibet.

India formally acknowledged Tibet as part of China through two major diplomatic milestones. In 1954, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru signed the Panchsheel Agreement, which referred to Tibet as the “Tibet Region of China” and ended India’s British-era extraterritorial rights in the region.

In June 2003, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the Chinese leadership signed a joint declaration under which India formally recognised the Tibet Autonomous Region as part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China.

The disaster in Nepal and Tibet is not a one-off. The Lhende Khola river system has now flooded twice in just 14 months, and the increasingly unstable Himalayan ice system threatens communities, infrastructure and water supplies across one of the world’s most densely populated regions.

The region saw similar flash floods in August last year, when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed because of high temperatures. Nine people were killed, and critical infrastructure, including a bridge connecting Nepal and China, was damaged.