The French government is honouring shashi tharoor for his writings and speeches; Congress party members congratulate him.
With senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor set to be conferred with France’s highest civilian award Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, a host of party leaders congratulated him on the prestigious honour.
The French government is honouring him for his writings and speeches and French Ambassador here Emmanuel Lenain has written to Tharoor informing him about the award.
“As one who cherishes our relations with France, loves the language and admires the culture, I am honoured to be recognized in this way. My gratitude & appreciation to those who have seen fit to award me this distinction,” Tharoor said in response to a tweet congratulating him on the award.
Several Congress leaders as well as Congress’s Kerala unit and the state’s Youth Congress unit also congratulated the MP from Thiruvananthapuram. Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he is in a state of “absolute euphoria” while coming to know that Tharoor is being conferred upon the highest civilian honour of France for his “extraordinary erudition and penetrative knowledge”.
Responding to Chowdhury on Twitter, Tharoor said, “Thanks a lot @adhirinc. Recognition is always welcome, and your appreciation makes it all the more valuable.” Congress leaders T S Singhdeo, Pradyut Bordoloi, Mohammad Jawaid, Praveen Chakravarty, and Indian Union Muslim League M K Muneer also congratulated Tharoor.
Shashi Tharoor: About:
Born 9 March 1956, Tharoor, is an Indian former international diplomat, politician, writer and public intellectual who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He was formerly Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and ran for the post of Secretary-General in 2006.
He also serves as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology and All India Professionals Congress. He formerly served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs (2014 to 2019).
Born in London, UK, and raised in India, Tharoor worked across the world, graduating from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi in 1975 and culminating his studies in 1978 with a doctorate in International Relations and Affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.
At the age of 22, he was the youngest person at the time to receive such an honour from the Fletcher School. From 1978 to 2007, Tharoor was a career official at the United Nations, rising to the rank of Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information in 2001.
He announced his retirement after finishing second in the 2006 selection for U.N. Secretary-General to Ban Ki-moon. In 2009, Tharoor began his political career by joining the Indian National Congress and successfully represented the party from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala by winning in the Lok Sabha elections and becoming a member of parliament.
During the Congress-led UPA Government rule (2004–2014), Tharoor served as Minister of State for External Affairs (2009–2010) and Minister of Human Resource Development (2012–2014). Tharoor has authored 23 works of fiction and non-fiction since 1981, which are centred on India and its history, culture, film, politics, society, foreign policy, and more related themes.
In 2019, Shashi Tharoor received the Sahitya Academy Award for his book An Era of Darkness, about the British Raj, in a non-fiction category in English language. He is also the author of hundreds of columns and articles in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, Newsweek, and The Times of India.
He was a contributing editor for Newsweek International for two years. From 2010 to 2012, he wrote a column in The Asian Age, Deccan Chronicle and, for most of 2012, until his appointment as Minister, a column in Mail Today; he also writes an internationally syndicated monthly column for Project Syndicate.
He also wrote regular columns for The Indian Express (1991–93 and 1996–2001), The Hindu (2001–2008), and The Times of India (2007–2009). These are some of his many accolades, Asiana Times congratulates Shashi Tharoor, a politician, a luminary, a writer and a wordsmith.
Read more – Shashi Tharoor: The Controversial Picture
