Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor was born on 9 March 1956{{Cite web|title='Am touched by your thoughtfulness': Shashi Tharoor thanks PM Modi for birthday wishes in Malayalam|url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/am-touched-by-your-thoughtfulness-shashi-tharoor-thanks-pm-modi-for-birthday-wishes-in-malayalam|access-date=29 March 2021|website=www.freepressjournal.in|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514020105/https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/am-touched-by-your-thoughtfulness-shashi-tharoor-thanks-pm-modi-for-birthday-wishes-in-malayalam|url-status=live}} in London, United Kingdom as Shashi Krishnan Chandrashekaran Tharoor to Chandra Shekharan Nair "Chandran" Tharoor and Sulekha Menon, a Malayali couple from Palakkad, Kerala.{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shashi-tharoor/caste-wont-disappear-india_b_6257354.html |work=HuffPost |title=Why Caste Won't Disappear From India |date=8 December 2014 |access-date=15 August 2015 |archive-date=26 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726183804/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shashi-tharoor/caste-wont-disappear-india_b_6257354.html |url-status=live }} Tharoor has two younger sisters, Shobha and Smitha.{{Cite web|date=10 October 2021|title=Used to bully them when we were younger but now...: Shashi Tharoor on his equation with his sisters|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/congress-mp-shashi-tharoor-younger-sisters-smita-shobha-1863066-2021-10-10|access-date=29 November 2021|website=India Today|language=en}} Shashi's paternal grandfather's nickname was Chippukutty Nair. Shashi's paternal uncle was Parameshwaran Tharoor, the founder of Reader's Digest in India.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Chandran-Tharoor/6000000003135182048|title=Chandran Tharoor (1929–1993) – Genealogy|date=19 December 2014 |access-date=18 April 2021|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418164635/https://www.geni.com/people/Chandran-Tharoor/6000000003135182048|url-status=live}}

Tharoor's father, originally from Kerala, worked in various positions in London, Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi, including a 25-year career (culminating as group advertising manager) for The Statesman. Tharoor's parents returned to India when he was 2-years old, where he joined the Montfort School, Yercaud, in 1962, subsequently moving to Bombay (now Mumbai) and studying at the Campion School (1963–68).{{cite web |url=http://www.excampionites.com/members-details/?ID=1328 |title=Shashi Tharoor |work=Old Campionite's Association |year=2016 |access-date=16 January 2016 |archive-date=1 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201052710/http://www.excampionites.com/members-details/?ID=1328 |url-status=live }}

In 1975, Tharoor graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from St Stephen's College at the University of Delhi, where he had been president of the student union and also founded the St. Stephen's Quiz Club.{{Cite web|date=10 September 2015|title=10 politicians who graduated from Delhi University|url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/politics/national/10-politicians-graduated-from-university-of-delhi-32279.html|access-date=29 November 2021|website=www.indiatvnews.com|language=en|archive-date=29 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129060855/https://www.indiatvnews.com/politics/national/10-politicians-graduated-from-university-of-delhi-32279.html|url-status=live}} Within the same year, Tharoor went to the United States to obtain an M.A. in International Relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford. After obtaining his M.A. in 1976, Tharoor further obtained his Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy in 1977 and his Ph.D. in International Relations and Affairs in 1978.{{cite web |url=http://tuftsalumni.org/who-we-are/alumni-recognition/tufts-notables/public-service-education-5/#tharoor |title=Public Service and Education, S – T |work=Tufts Alumni |access-date=16 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123221752/http://tuftsalumni.org/who-we-are/alumni-recognition/tufts-notables/public-service-education-5/#tharoor |archive-date=23 January 2016 }} While he was pursuing his doctorate, Tharoor was awarded the Robert B. Stewart Prize for best student and was also the first editor of the Fletcher Forum of International Affairs.{{Cite web|date=9 March 2016|title=Shashi Tharoor turns 60: Some lesser-known facts you shouldn't overlook|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/shashi-tharoor-312409-2016-03-09|access-date=29 November 2021|website=India Today|language=en|archive-date=28 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428101503/https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/shashi-tharoor-312409-2016-03-09|url-status=live}} At the age of 22, he was the youngest person to receive a doctorate in the history of the Fletcher School.{{cite news |title=Shashi Tharoor's controversial political stint {{!}} India News |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Shashi-Tharoors-controversial-political-stint/articleshow/5829403.cms |access-date=3 July 2019 |work=The Times of India |date=18 April 2010 |archive-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712125121/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Shashi-Tharoors-controversial-political-stint/articleshow/5829403.cms |url-status=live }}

Tharoor's career in the United Nations began in 1978 as a staff member of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. From 1981 until 1984 he was head of the UNHCR office in Singapore, during the boat people crisis, leading the organisation's rescue efforts at sea and succeeding in resettling a backlog of Vietnamese refugees. He also processed Polish and Acehnese refugee cases.{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2003/tharoor.html |title=Shashi Tharoor |publisher=United Nations |access-date=16 January 2016 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222152908/http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2003/tharoor.html |url-status=live }} After a further stint at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, during which he became the first chairman of the staff elected by UNHCR personnel worldwide, Tharoor left UNHCR. In 1989 he was appointed special assistant to the Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs, the unit that later became the Peacekeeping Operations Department in New York. Until 1996, he led the team responsible for peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia, spending considerable time on the ground during the civil war there.{{cite web |url=http://fletcher.tufts.edu/News-and-Media/2008/01/25/A-look-at-the-life |title=A look at life after the UN: Shashi Tharoor F'78 |date=25 January 2008 |work=Tufts Fletcher School |access-date=16 January 2016 |archive-date=24 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024211455/http://fletcher.tufts.edu/News-and-Media/2008/01/25/A-look-at-the-life |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/stories/tharoor_bio.htm |title=Shashi Tharoor biography |publisher=United Nations |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413040623/http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/stories/tharoor_bio.htm |archive-date=13 April 2012 }}

In 1996, Tharoor was appointed Director of Communications and Special Projects and Executive Assistant to Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In January 2001, Tharoor was appointed as Interim Head{{Cite web|title=Appointment of Shashi Tharoor as Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information confirmed by Secretary General|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2002/sga803.doc.htm|access-date=19 November 2018|publisher=United Nations|archive-date=3 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703163815/https://www.un.org/press/en/2002/sga803.doc.htm|url-status=live}} of the Department of Public Information (DPI) at the Assistant-Secretary-General level. He was subsequently confirmed as the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information (UNDPI) with effect from 1 June 2002. In this capacity, he was responsible for the United Nations' communications strategy, enhancing the image and effectiveness of the organisation. In 2003 the Secretary-General gave him the additional responsibility of United Nations Coordinator for Multilingualism. During his tenure at the UNDPI, Tharoor reformed the department and undertook a number of initiatives, ranging from organizing and conducting the first-ever UN seminar on Antisemitism, the first-ever UN seminar on Islamophobia after the 11 September attacks, and launching an annual list of "Ten Under-Reported Stories the World Ought to Know about", which was last produced in 2008 by his successor.

On 9 February 2007, Tharoor resigned from the post of Under-Secretary-General and left the UN on 1 April 2007.{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/feb/09un.htm |title=UN Under Secy General Shashi Tharoor resigns |date=9 February 2007 |work=Rediff |access-date=16 January 2016 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235820/http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/feb/09un.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/events/tenstories/08/ |title=Ten Stories The World Should Hear More About |publisher=United Nations |access-date=16 January 2016 |archive-date=31 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231143730/http://www.un.org/en/events/tenstories/08/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.nysun.com/new-york/shashi-tharoor-inside-man/32384/ |title=Shashi Tharoor: Inside Man |first=Pranay |last=Gupte |date=9 May 2006 |newspaper=The New York Sun |access-date=16 January 2016 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214436/http://www.nysun.com/new-york/shashi-tharoor-inside-man/32384/ |url-status=live }}

{{See also|2006 United Nations Secretary-General selection}}

In 2010, the government of India nominated Tharoor for the post of UN Secretary General.{{cite web|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/old/print.php?content_id=130689 |title=India names Shashi Tharoor for UN Secretary General's post |work=The Financial Express |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207062959/http://www.financialexpress.com/old/print.php?content_id=130689 |archive-date=7 December 2013 }} Had he won, the 50-year-old Shashi Tharoor would have become the second-youngest Secretary-General, after the 46-year-old Dag Hammarskjöld.{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1961/hammarskjold-bio.html |title=Biography – Dag Hammarskjöld |publisher=Nobel Foundation |access-date=16 April 2010 |archive-date=3 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903131550/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1961/hammarskjold-bio.html |url-status=live }} Although all previous Secretaries-General had come from small countries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan felt that Tharoor's candidacy would demonstrate India's willingness to play a larger role at the United Nations.{{cite news|last1=Tharoor|first1=Shashi|title=The inside Story of How I Lost the Race for the UN Secretary-General's Job in 2006|url=http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/cover-story/the-inside-story-of-how-i-lost-the-race-for-the-un-secretary-generals-job-in-2006-shashi-tharoor|work=OPEN Magazine|date=21 October 2016|access-date=9 July 2017|archive-date=5 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105161700/http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/cover-story/the-inside-story-of-how-i-lost-the-race-for-the-un-secretary-generals-job-in-2006-shashi-tharoor|url-status=live}}

Tharoor finished second, behind Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, in each of the four straw polls conducted by the UN Security Council.{{cite web |url=http://www.unsg.org/wordpress/2006/10/first-color-coded-straw-poll-results/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117050910/http://www.unsg.org/wordpress/2006/10/first-color-coded-straw-poll-results/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 November 2015 |title=Ban Ki-moon wins |work=UNSG.org |date=2 October 2006 |access-date=2 October 2006 }} In the final round, Ban emerged as the only candidate not to be vetoed by one of the permanent members, while Tharoor received one veto from the United States. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton later revealed his instructions from Condoleezza Rice: "We don't want a strong Secretary-General." Tharoor was a protégé of the independently minded Kofi Annan,{{cite web |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_us-veto-ends-shashi-tharoor-s-run-for-top-job-at-the-un_1056664 |title=US veto ends Shashi Tharoor's run for top job at the UN |work=DNA India |first=Seema |last=Guha |date=4 October 2006 |access-date=16 April 2010 |archive-date=25 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625185332/http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_us-veto-ends-shashi-tharoor-s-run-for-top-job-at-the-un_1056664 |url-status=live }} and a senior American official told Tharoor that the US was determined to have "No more Kofis." After the vote, Tharoor withdrew his candidacy and declined Ban Ki-moon's invitation to remain in service beyond the expiry of his term as Under-Secretary-General.

{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | video1 =[http://www.ted.com/talks/shashi_tharoor "Why nations should pursue soft power"], TED talk, November 2009 }}

In February 2007, amidst speculation about his post-UN future, the Indian press reported that Tharoor might be inducted into Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as Minister of State for External Affairs. In the same month, an American gossip blog reported that Tharoor was a finalist for the position of dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication in Los Angeles, but he withdrew his name from consideration at the final stage.{{cite web |url=http://www.laist.com/archives/2007/02/20/top_5_candidates_for_usc_annenberg_dean.php |title=Top 5 Candidates for USC Annenberg Dean |first=Andy |last=Sternberg |date=20 February 2007 |work=LAist |access-date=16 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403083550/http://www.laist.com/archives/2007/02/20/top_5_candidates_for_usc_annenberg_dean.php |archive-date=3 April 2007 }} Instead, Tharoor became chairman of Dubai-based Afras Ventures,{{cite news |last=Haniffa |first=Aziz |title=Shashi Tharoor joins the corporate world |date=10 May 2007 |work=Rediff News |url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/may/10shashi.htm |access-date=6 May 2008 |archive-date=27 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527215120/http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/may/10shashi.htm |url-status=live }} which established the Afras Academy for Business Communication (AABC) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, the city in which he would go on to win a record four parliamentary elections. He also spoke around the world about India and Kerala, where he spent increasing amounts of time before moving for good to India in October 2008.

Prior to embarking on his political career, Tharoor also served on the board of overseers of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the board of trustees of the Aspen Institute, and the advisory boards of the Indo-American Arts Council, the American India Foundation, the World Policy Journal, the Virtue Foundation, and the human rights organisation Breakthrough.{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/BSP/images/Shashitharoorbio.pdf |title=Shashi Tharoor Biographical note |year=2007 |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=17 March 2014 |archive-date=25 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325232442/http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/BSP/images/Shashitharoorbio.pdf |url-status=live }} At the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1976, he founded and was the first chair of the editorial board of The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, a journal examining issues in international relations.{{cite web

|url = http://www.ony.unu.edu/09February2006Panelists.html

|title = In cooperation with UNU-P&G, United States Institute of Peace, and Cambridge University Press

|access-date = 10 May 2007

|publisher = United Nations University Office at the United Nations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609181244/http://www.ony.unu.edu/09February2006Panelists.html |archive-date=9 June 2007}} Tharoor was an international adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva from 2008 to 2011. He served on the advisory council of the Hague Institute for International Justice{{cite news |title=Shashi Tharoor now a member of the THIGJ Advisory Council |date=17 October 2012 |work=The Hague Institute for Global Justice |url=http://www.thehagueinstituteforglobaljustice.org/index.php?page=News-News_articles-Recent-Shashi_Tharoor_now_a_member_of_the_THIGJ_Advisory_Council&pid=138&id=32 |access-date=28 November 2012 |archive-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606222423/http://www.thehagueinstituteforglobaljustice.org/index.php?page=News-News_articles-Recent-Shashi_Tharoor_now_a_member_of_the_THIGJ_Advisory_Council&pid=138&id=32 |url-status=live }} and was elected Fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities during 1995–96.{{cite book |title=The Atlantic Companion to Literature in English |editor-first=Mohit K. |editor-last=Ray |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors |location=New Delhi |date=1 September 2007 |page=524 |isbn=9788126908325}} He also supported various educational causes, including as Patron of GEMS Modern Academy in Dubai.{{cite news

|url = http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1080342

|date = 16 February 2007

|title = Shashi Tharoor to be inducted in government?

|access-date = 16 January 2016

|newspaper = Daily News and Analysis

|archive-date = 11 February 2009

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090211162737/http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1080342

|url-status = live

}}

File:The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee administering the oath as Minister of State to Dr. Shashi Tharoor, at a Swearing-in Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on October 28, 2012.jpg President of India Pranab Mukherjee administering the oath as Minister of State to Shashi Tharoor at a Swearing-in Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 2012.]]

Tharoor once said that when he began his political career he was approached by the Congress, the Communists, and the BJP. He chose Congress because he felt ideologically comfortable with it.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170514/jsp/opinion/story_151438.jsp|title=In his Image – The Importance of being Shashi Tharoor|date=14 May 2017|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=5 June 2017|archive-date=20 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220093305/https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170514/jsp/opinion/story_151438.jsp|url-status=dead}} In March 2009, Tharoor contested the Indian General elections as a candidate for the Congress Party in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. His opponents included P. Ramachandran Nair of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Neelalohitadasan Nadar of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), MP Gangadharan of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and PK Krishna Das of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Despite criticism that he was an "elite outsider",{{cite web|url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/outsider-to-playboy-tharoor-hopes-to-ride-out-new-storm/articleshow/33581994.cms|title=Shashi Tharoor – The Elite Outsider|website=The Times of India|access-date=14 November 2019|archive-date=8 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508142753/https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/outsider-to-playboy-tharoor-hopes-to-ride-out-new-storm/articleshow/33581994.cms|url-status=live}}

Tharoor won the elections by a margin of 99,989. He was then selected as a Minister of State in the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. On 28 May 2009, he was sworn in as Minister of State for External Affairs, in charge of Africa, Latin America, and the Gulf, including the Haj pilgrimage, and the Consular, Passports, and Visas services of the Ministry. As Minister of State for External Affairs, he re-established long-dormant diplomatic relationships with African nations, where his fluency in French made him popular with Francophone countries and their heads of state.

Tharoor was a pioneer in using social media as an instrument of political interaction. He was India's most-followed politician on Twitter until 2013, when he was overtaken by future Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Some of his Twitter posts have proved controversial in the past and were highlighted negatively by the opposition and press.

Tharoor was also the first Indian minister to visit Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake. He reformed the arrangements relating to the conduct of the Haj pilgrimage. He initiated new policy-planning activities on the Indian Ocean and represented India at various global events during his 11-month tenure as minister. In April 2010, Tharoor resigned from the position as Minister of State for External Affairs following allegations that he had misused his office to get shares in an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchise. He denied the charges, and during his resignation speech in Parliament, called for a full inquiry. In a 2014 rejoinder he defended his position: "I was never involved in a scam of any sort in the IPL- I was brought down because...[I had] antagonised some powerful political cricketing interests" and added that he had "cooperated extensively with the detailed investigation conducted by the Enforcement Directorate into the entire issue", and no wrongdoing had been found.{{cite web |last1=Tharoor |first1=Shashi |title=Rejoinder: Time I put the record straight, says Shashi Tharoor |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/column/ls-election-rejoinder-time-i-put-the-record-straight-says-shashi-tharoor/20140523.htm |website=Rediff |access-date=29 March 2024 |language=en}}

File:Manmohan Singh addressing after unveiling the commemoration plaque of the offsite Campus of Central University of Kerala, at Thiruvananthapuram, in Kerala. The Governor of Kerala, Shri Nikhil Kumar.jpg Manmohan Singh with Shashi unveiling the commemoration plaque of the offsite Campus of Central University of Kerala at Thiruvananthapuram, in Kerala.]]Between 2010 and 2012, Tharoor remained active in Parliament and was member-convenor of the Parliamentary Forum on Disaster Management, a member of the Standing Committee on External Affairs, of the Consultative Committee of Defence, the Public Accounts Committee, and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Telecoms. He participated in several important debates of the 15th Lok Sabha, including on the Lokpal Bill, the demand for grants of the Ministry of External Affairs and of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the black money debate, and so on. In the special debate on the 60th anniversary of the Indian Parliament, Tharoor was one of four members of the Congress Party, including party President Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee, to be invited to address the Lok Sabha.

In 2012, Tharoor was re-inducted into the Union Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the portfolio of minister of state for Human Resource Development. In this role, he took special interest in the problems and challenges of adult education, distance education and enhancing high-quality research by academic institutions. He was responsible for the ministry's written answers to Parliament's questions and responded to oral questions on education during the Lok Sabha's Question Hour. He addressed forums and conferences on education, explained a vision of India's educational challenges in the context of the country's demographic opportunities, and stressed that education was not only a socioeconomic issue, but also a national security issue.

As Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor became the first elected representative in India to issue annual reports on his work as MP, including furnishing accounts of his MPLADS expenditure. In 2012 he published a half-term report followed in 2014 by a full-term report.

File:Hibi Eden and Sasi Tharoor.jpg President Hibi Eden and other Congress workers in Ernakulam, Kerala.]]

In May 2014, Tharoor won his re-election from Thiruvananthapuram, defeating O. Rajagopal of the Bharatiya Janata Party by a margin of around 15,700 votes, and became a member of the 16th Lok Sabha, sitting in Opposition. He was named Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs. Shashi Tharoor was dropped from the post of Congress spokesperson on 13 October 2014 after he praised statements of his party's opponent, Prime Minister Modi.{{cite news|url=http://m.indiatoday.in/story/shashi-tharoor-removed-congress-spokesperson-kpcc/1/395503.html|title=Shashi Tharoor removed as Congress spokesperson|date=13 October 2014|newspaper=India Today|access-date=9 March 2017|archive-date=12 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312023709/http://m.indiatoday.in/story/shashi-tharoor-removed-congress-spokesperson-kpcc/1/395503.html|url-status=live}}

In regards to Tharoor's removal from the post of congress spokesperson, Kolkata's The Telegraph opined, "For an Opposition MP to have and to exercise the freedom to appreciate a good thing done by the government and for a ruling party MP to speak and vote against the party line is not just legitimate parliamentary practice, it is the very essence of parliamentary democracy. Shashi Tharoor, from the ranks of the Congress has tried to do that; there is not one BJP MP who has matched him. Blind conformism is not loyalty, nor independent thinking, dissent."{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1151004/jsp/opinion/story_46010.jsp|title=Silence Is Not Golden- The Importance of being Shashi Tharoor MP|date=4 October 2015|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=5 June 2017|archive-date=13 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013001254/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151004/jsp/opinion/story_46010.jsp|url-status=dead}}

After the BJP victory of 2014, Tharoor was asked to help the treasury benches draft a statement condemning Pakistan for freeing Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the Lashkar-e-Toiba commander, who masterminded the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. In January 2015, Tharoor asked not to debunk genuine accomplishments of Ancient Indian Science due to exaggerations of the Hindutva brigade,{{Cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/dont-debunk-genuine-accomplishments-of-ancient-indian-science-says-shashi-tharoor-722353|title=Don't Debunk Genuine Accomplishments of Ancient Indian Science, says Shashi Tharoor|website=NDTV.com|access-date=26 November 2019|archive-date=26 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826052811/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/dont-debunk-genuine-accomplishments-of-ancient-indian-science-says-shashi-tharoor-722353|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/why-indian-science-scores/article28521379.ece|title=Why Indian science scores|date=8 June 2003|work=The Hindu}}{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Shashi-Tharoor-supports-Vardhan-says-dont-debunk-ancient-science/articleshow/45751273.cms|title=Shashi Tharoor supports Vardhan, says don't debunk ancient science | India News|website=The Times of India|date=4 January 2015 |access-date=26 November 2019|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108171353/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Shashi-Tharoor-supports-Vardhan-says-dont-debunk-ancient-science/articleshow/45751273.cms|url-status=live}} amid 2015 Indian Science Congress ancient aircraft controversy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/tharoor-explains-his-tweets-on-ancient-indian-science-729942|title=Opinion: Tharoor Explains His Tweets on Ancient Indian Science|website=NDTV.com|access-date=26 November 2019|archive-date=29 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229152102/https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/tharoor-explains-his-tweets-on-ancient-indian-science-729942|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/R3qHit95m09xNttJNPo43L/Separating-fact-from-ancient-Indian-science-fiction.html|title=Separating fact from ancient Indian science fiction|first=Akshat|last=Rathi|date=1 August 2015|website=Mint|access-date=26 November 2019|archive-date=17 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117172216/https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/R3qHit95m09xNttJNPo43L/Separating-fact-from-ancient-Indian-science-fiction.html|url-status=live}}

In March 2017, Tharoor called for the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata to be converted into a museum on the effects of British colonial rule in India. Tharoor wrote in an Al Jazeera article that the British "conquered one of the richest countries in the world (27 per cent of global gross domestic product in 1700) and reduced it to, after over two centuries of looting and exploitation, one of the poorest, most diseased and most illiterate countries on Earth by the time they left in 1947. ...Nor is there any memorial to the massacres of the Raj, from Delhi in 1857 to Amritsar in 1919, the deaths of 35 million Indians in totally unnecessary famines caused by British [policies]"."[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-35-million-deaths-britain-shashi-tharoor-british-empire-a7627041.html Britain is responsible for deaths of 35 million Indians, says acclaimed author Shashi Tharoor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518211431/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-35-million-deaths-britain-shashi-tharoor-british-empire-a7627041.html |date=18 May 2018 }}". The Independent. 13 March 2017.

Although there was significant support for Tharoor to contest as the Prime Minister candidate in 2019 General Elections, he has disowned, downplayed, and distanced himself from any such online campaigns run by his large number of followers.{{Cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/shashi-tharoor-responds-to-online-petition-wanting-him-as-upa-pm-contender-in-2019/|title=Shashi Tharoor responds to online petition wanting him as UPA PM contender in 2019|date=17 March 2017|work=The Indian Express|access-date=19 September 2018|archive-date=28 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428100652/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/shashi-tharoor-responds-to-online-petition-wanting-him-as-upa-pm-contender-in-2019/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=17 March 2017|title=Shashi Tharoor says no intention of becoming PM in 2019, asks to withdraw petition|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/shashi-tharoor-says-no-intention-of-becoming-pm-in-2019-asks-to-withdraw-petition/591555/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=The Financial Express|language=en-US|archive-date=29 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129063841/https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/shashi-tharoor-says-no-intention-of-becoming-pm-in-2019-asks-to-withdraw-petition/591555/|url-status=live}}

Tharoor has also attempted to introduce a number of Private Members Bills in the Parliament. Notably, his efforts to amend Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code were voted out by the majority of parliamentarians on two occasions. The Apex court of India later ruled in favor of amending the controversial article in 2018, thereby vindicating the position advocated by Tharoor.{{cite news |title=Bill to decriminalise gay sex rejected |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35129361 |work=BBC News |date=18 December 2015 |access-date=19 September 2018 |archive-date=19 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919174638/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35129361 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=SC verdict on Section 377 – A timeline of the case |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/section-377-to-be-revisited-timeline-of-the-case-501 |work=The Indian Express |date=8 January 2018}} Tharoor got elected to the AICC Working committee on 20 August 2023. In the Lok Sabha Elections of 2024, he was re-elected to Parliament defeating Rajeev Chandrashekar of the BJP by a decent margin.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-04 |title=Rajeev Chandrasekhar concedes to Shashi Tharoor: 'Fought clean campaign' |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/story/bjp-rajeev-chandrasekhar-concedes-to-congress-shashi-tharoor-in-thiruvananthpuram-lok-sabha-seat-fought-clean-campaign-2548959-2024-06-04 |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=India Today |language=en}}

File:Shashi at the polls - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg.]]

While in the Opposition, he was appointed in multiple positions by the Modi-led government. In 2019, he was appointed as the Chairman of Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology.{{cite news |last1=Alawadhi |first1=Neha |date=14 September 2019 |title=Govt forms IT Standing Committee, names Shashi Tharoor as chairperson |work=Business Standard |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-forms-it-standing-committee-names-shashi-tharoor-as-chairperson-119091400680_1.html |url-status=live |access-date=16 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920225722/https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-forms-it-standing-committee-names-shashi-tharoor-as-chairperson-119091400680_1.html |archive-date=20 September 2019}} On 26 September 2024, he was appointed as the Chairman of Committee on External Affairs.{{cite news |author1=Press Trust of India |title=Parliament's standing committees constituted: BJP's Mahtab to head Finance, Shashi Tharoor given External Affairs |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/parliaments-standing-committees-constituted-bjps-mahtab-to-head-finance-shashi-tharoor-given-external-affairs/article68689188.ece |access-date=31 October 2024 |work=The Hindu |date=27 September 2024}}

{{See also|Shashi Tharoor's Oxford Union speech}}

Tharoor is notable for his eloquence while speaking, as demonstrated by the popularity of his speeches on online platformsTop Indian Speaker at ISB [https://www.indianspeakerbureau.com/speaker_profile/161"Indian Speaker Bureau] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213125051/http://www.indianspeakerbureau.com/speaker_profile/161 |date=13 February 2019 }} such as YouTube. For instance, Shashi Tharoor's Oxford Union speech, delivered at the Oxford Union in 2015, supporting the motion "Britain owes reparations to her former colonies" has amassed over 10 million views on one site alone, while simultaneously being praised as ground-breaking in various educational institutions in India. Further speeches such as those explaining the importance of "soft power" and analyzing the impacts of education in India have garnered over one million and two million views respectively.{{Cite web |url=https://livecounts.io/youtube-live-view-counter/f7CW7S0zxv4 |title=Dr Shashi Tharoor MP – Britain Does Owe Reparations |website=livecounts.io |language=en}}{{cite web|title=Five lessons we learned about India from Shashi Tharoor's Oxford speech|url=http://www.firstpost.com/living/five-lessons-learned-india-shashi-tharoors-oxford-speech-2356444.html|website=FirstPost|date=22 July 2015|access-date=22 July 2015|archive-date=23 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723160504/http://www.firstpost.com/living/five-lessons-learned-india-shashi-tharoors-oxford-speech-2356444.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Shashi Tharoor's Scalding Oxford Union Speech Against Colonial Britain|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.in/shashi-tharoor-garners-appreciation-his-spirited-argument-oxford-union-debate-full-text-640299n-debate-full-text-640299|website=International Business Times|date=24 July 2015}}

Additionally, Tharoor is known for his views on a number of topics including economics, history, governance, and geopolitics due to both his well-regarded educational attainment and his broad experience while at the United Nations. He is an outspoken supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations, arguing that "United Nations needs to open its doors to elected representatives"{{Cite news|url=http://en.unpacampaign.org/statements/|title=Statements|work=Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly|access-date=28 September 2017|archive-date=26 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926043017/http://en.unpacampaign.org/statements/|url-status=live}} Many note that it is his combination of wit, charm, wry humour, and intelligence that make him accessible and held in high esteem, both in India and abroad.{{cite web|title=India's Best Orators|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/indias-best-orators/295106|website=Outlook India|date=18 August 2015 |access-date=6 May 2017|archive-date=5 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505144432/http://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/indias-best-orators/295106|url-status=live}}

Tharoor did a one-off stand-up act as part of Amazon Prime Video series One Mic Stand.{{Cite news|last=Duggal|first=Deepansh|title=Shashi Tharoor {{!}} 'One Mic Stand': Shashi Tharoor calls out PM Modi, speaks millennial lingo; his stand-up act becomes a massive hit|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/one-mic-stand-shashi-tharoor-shines-in-his-stand-up-act-calls-out-pm-modi-speaks-millennial-lingo/articleshow/72105829.cms?from=mdr|access-date=16 November 2020}}

Tharoor has been a columnist in each of India's three best-known English-language newspapers,Newspaper Circulation most recently for The Hindu (2001–2008) and in a weekly column, "Shashi on Sunday," in the Times of India (January 2007 – December 2008). Following his resignation as Minister of State for External Affairs, he began a fortnightly column on foreign policy issues in the Deccan Chronicle. Previously he was a columnist for the Gentleman magazine and the Indian Express newspaper, as well as a frequent contributor to Newsweek International and the International Herald Tribune. His op-eds and book reviews have appeared in The Washington Post,{{cite news|last=Tharoor|first=Shashi|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-behind-the-beautiful-forevers-by-katherine-boo/2012/01/26/gIQA848t4Q_story.html|title=Book review: 'Behind the Beautiful Forevers,' by Katherine Boo|date=10 October 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=10 July 2013|archive-date=23 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123205730/http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-behind-the-beautiful-forevers-by-katherine-boo/2012/01/26/gIQA848t4Q_story.html|url-status=live}} The New York Times{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/08/opinion/india-s-odd-enduring-patchwork.html|title=Opinion | India's Odd, Enduring Patchwork|last=Tharoor|first=Shashi|date=8 August 1997|work=The New York Times|access-date=11 September 2017|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104184516/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/08/opinion/india-s-odd-enduring-patchwork.html|url-status=live}} and the Los Angeles Times,{{cite news|last=Tharoor|first=Shashi|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-oct-24-bk-tharoor24-story.html|title=No great sheiks|date=24 October 2004|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=10 July 2013|archive-date=20 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220092038/http://articles.latimes.com/2004/oct/24/books/bk-tharoor24|url-status=live}} amongst other papers.{{citation needed |date=April 2012}} His monthly column, "India Reawakening", distributed by Project Syndicate, appears in 80 newspapers around the world.{{Cite web|url=https://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist/shashi-tharoor|title=Shashi Tharoor|website=Project Syndicate|access-date=15 April 2017|archive-date=23 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323200651/https://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist/shashi-tharoor|url-status=live}} As of 2021, Tharoor has written twenty-three books in English.{{Cite web|title=Tharoor's 23rd book is out|url=http://news.rediff.com/commentary/2021/oct/01/tharoors-23rd-book-is-out/3f4bd0df669a99c259b2386bb61f2e62|access-date=29 November 2021|website=news.rediff.com|language=en|archive-date=29 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129062417/https://news.rediff.com/commentary/2021/oct/01/tharoors-23rd-book-is-out/3f4bd0df669a99c259b2386bb61f2e62|url-status=live}}

Tharoor began writing at the age of 6,{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/the-shastra-of-writing/article7117149.ece|title=The Shastra of Writing|work=The Hindu|date=19 April 2015|last1=Zachariah|first1=Preeti|access-date=19 February 2020|archive-date=28 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928091054/https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/the-shastra-of-writing/article7117149.ece|url-status=live}} and his first published story appeared in the Sunday edition of The Free Press Journal, in Mumbai at age 10.{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/shashi-tharoor-312409-2016-03-09|title=Shashi Tharoor|work=India Today|date=9 March 2016 |access-date=19 February 2020|archive-date=28 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428101503/https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/shashi-tharoor-312409-2016-03-09|url-status=live}} His World War II adventure novel Operation Bellows about a RAF pilot Reginald Bellows, inspired by the Biggles books, was serialised in the Junior Statesman starting a week before his 11th birthday.{{Cite book|last=Tharoor|first=Shashi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jDj0OyH8VewC&dq=shashi+tharoor+statemen+operation+bellows&pg=PT9|title=The Five-Dollar Smile: Fourteen Early Stories and a Farce in Two Acts|date=31 January 2015|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-93-5118-099-9|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=31 May 1999|title=The World's Oldest Teenagers|url=https://www.himalmag.com/the-worlds-oldest-teenagers/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Himal Southasian|language=en-GB|archive-date=29 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129061939/https://www.himalmag.com/the-worlds-oldest-teenagers/|url-status=live}} The Great Indian Novel had had 43 reprints as of October 2014, and a Silver Jubilee special edition was issued on the book's 25th anniversary in October 2014, by Viking Penguin India. The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone has also undergone several hardback re-prints.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/shashi-tharoors-the-great-indian-novel-has-completed-25-years-in-print-the-silver-jubilee-was-celebrated-over-satire-sips/cid/1557477|title=Shashi Tharoor's The Great Indian novel has completed 25 years in print, the silver jubilee was celebrated over satire & sips|work=The Telegraph|location=Kolkota|access-date=19 February 2020|archive-date=6 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506224350/https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/shashi-tharoors-the-great-indian-novel-has-completed-25-years-in-print-the-silver-jubilee-was-celebrated-over-satire-sips/cid/1557477|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/shashi-tharoor-political-career-minister-of-state-for-external-affairs-cabiner-reshuffle-the-great-indian-novel-ready-reckoner-119895-2012-10-29|title=Shashi Tharoor: A ready-reckoner|work=India Today|date=29 October 2012 }} President Bill Clinton cited Shashi Tharoor's book India From Midnight to the Millennium in his speech to the Indian parliament in 2000.{{cite web|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/shashi-tharoor-a-man-who-courts-controversy-1.1398600|title=A man who courts controversy|website=Gulf News|date=14 October 2014 |access-date=15 April 2017|archive-date=15 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415202938/http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/shashi-tharoor-a-man-who-courts-controversy-1.1398600|url-status=live}}

Tharoor has lectured widely on India,{{cite web|url=http://news.nd.edu/news/8766-former-un-diplomat-tharoor-to-deliver-hesburgh-lectures/|title=Former UN diplomat Tharoor to deliver Hesburgh Lectures|last=Chamberlin|first=Kyle|date=10 April 2007|publisher=University of Notre Dame|access-date=19 January 2014|archive-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202121350/http://news.nd.edu/news/8766-former-un-diplomat-tharoor-to-deliver-hesburgh-lectures/|url-status=live}} and is often quoted for his observations,{{citation needed |date=April 2012}} including, "India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay."The Great Indian Novel, Viking: London, 1989, p.18. He also coined a comparison of India's "thali" to the American "melting pot": "If America is a melting pot, then to me India is a thali – a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next, but they belong together on the same plate, and they complement each other in making the meal a satisfying repast".The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone, Viking: New Delhi, 2007, p.62.

Shashi Tharoor's non-fiction work An Era of Darkness, published later in the United Kingdom as Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India, arose out of a speech{{Citation|title=Dr Shashi Tharoor MP – Britain Does Owe Reparations| date=14 July 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7CW7S0zxv4| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/f7CW7S0zxv4| archive-date=7 November 2021 | url-status=live|language=en|access-date=14 April 2020}}{{cbignore}} he made at the Oxford Union, was published in 2016. It has sold over 100,000 copies in hardback reprints and continues to be a bestseller in the country. The British edition rose to Number 1 in the London Evening Standard bestseller lists. Since then, he has published two other non-fiction books: Why I Am A Hindu (2018) and The Paradoxical Prime Minister (2018), both of which have been published in the Indian subcontinent by the Aleph Book Company.{{Cite news|url=http://www.alephbookcompany.com/book/why-i-am-a-hindu/|title=Why I am a Hindu|date=28 December 2017|access-date=19 November 2018|publisher=Aleph Book Company|archive-date=29 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129183146/http://www.alephbookcompany.com/book/why-i-am-a-hindu/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.alephbookcompany.com/book/the-paradoxical-prime-minister-narendra-modi-and-his-india/|title=The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi and His India|date=22 October 2018|access-date=19 November 2018|publisher=Aleph Book Company|archive-date=28 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028161813/http://www.alephbookcompany.com/book/the-paradoxical-prime-minister-narendra-modi-and-his-india/|url-status=live}} The two books, both mega-bestsellers in India, raised very important questions. Why I Am a Hindu makes the point that it is precisely because Hindus form the majority that India has survived as a plural, secular democracy, a status that come under threat in the present world. The Paradoxical Prime Minister was a critical study of the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the effect he has had on India, along with other questions about a leader who is reviled and worshipped in equal measure.

Victor Mallet in the Financial Times said Tharoor "wants us to understand the origins of the difficulties that confronted India" after Indian independence.{{Cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/1885a53e-07d4-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771b|title=Inglorious Empire by Shashi Tharoor – the rapacious Raj|website=Financial Times|date=17 March 2017|access-date=22 March 2018|last1=Mallet|first1=Victor|archive-date=17 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217014302/https://www.ft.com/content/1885a53e-07d4-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771b|url-status=live}} An article by the New Statesman said it was especially important for readers in Britain in the light of post-Brexit discussions.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/brexit/2017/03/why-brexiteers-need-update-their-reading-colonial-history|title=Why Brexiteers need to update their reading of colonial history|date=17 March 2017|website=New Statesman|access-date=22 March 2018|archive-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323154745/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/brexit/2017/03/why-brexiteers-need-update-their-reading-colonial-history|url-status=live}} Tharoor has called for the British government to pay "colonial reparations" to India.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/e74fd646-285d-11e8-b27e-cc62a39d57a0|title=Shashi Tharoor: the writer who believes Britain should pay colonial reparations|last=Stacey|first=Kiran|date=22 March 2018|website=Financial Times|access-date=22 March 2018|archive-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323092619/https://www.ft.com/content/e74fd646-285d-11e8-b27e-cc62a39d57a0|url-status=live}}

In September 2019, he published a new book, The Hindu Way: An Introduction, in line with his research into Hindu culture and ways of life of late.{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/936390/does-shashi-tharoor-believe-in-reincarnation-and-karma-his-new-book-has-an-answer|title=Does Shashi Tharoor believe in reincarnation and karma? His new book has an answer|last=Tharoor|first=Shashi|website=Scroll.in|date=8 September 2019 |access-date=14 November 2019|archive-date=29 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929192902/https://scroll.in/article/936390/does-shashi-tharoor-believe-in-reincarnation-and-karma-his-new-book-has-an-answer|url-status=live}} In 2020 he published The New World Disorder And the Indian Imperative, co-authored with Samir Saran, President of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), one of Asia's most influential think tanks. The book is a crucial study on the current state of chaos in international politics and identifies India's imminent role, as a non-hegemonic global power, in scripting an equitable ethic for a new international order.{{Cite news|last=Haidar|first=Suhasini|date=25 January 2020|title=Book review: The New World Disorder and the Indian Imperative by Shashi Tharoor and Samir Saran|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/book-review-the-new-world-disorder-and-the-indian-imperative-by-shashi-tharoor-and-samir-saran/article30644414.ece|access-date=29 November 2021|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=26 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126135106/https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/book-review-the-new-world-disorder-and-the-indian-imperative-by-shashi-tharoor-and-samir-saran/article30644414.ece|url-status=live}}

Tharoor's first wife was Tilottama Mukherji, a half-Bengali and half-Kashmiri academic,{{cite news |title=Shashi Tharoor and his ladies |url=https://www.abplive.in/crime/shashi-tharoor-and-his-ladies-7697 |access-date=5 July 2019 |work=m.abplive.in |date=10 January 2015 |archive-date=5 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705211555/https://www.abplive.in/crime/shashi-tharoor-and-his-ladies-7697 |url-status=live }} and the granddaughter of politician Kailash Nath Katju.{{cite news |title=Shashi Tharoor to marry third time |url=http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/news/india/shashi-tharoor-to-marry-third-time/Shashi-Tharoor/articleshow/5793527.cms |newspaper=The Times of India |date=13 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104103931/http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/news/india/shashi-tharoor-to-marry-third-time/Shashi-Tharoor/articleshow/5793527.cms |archive-date=4 November 2012 }} Tharoor and Mukherji had been college sweethearts and were married in 1981.{{cite web |last1=Ganapathy |first1=Nirmala |title=End of the road for Minister Twitter? |url=https://www.asiaone.com/asia/end-road-minister-twitter?amp |website=AsiaOne |access-date=5 July 2019 |date=21 January 2014 |archive-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518052415/https://www.asiaone.com/asia/end-road-minister-twitter?amp |url-status=live }} After their marriage, Tilottama took her husband's last name and began teaching English at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and also worked as a freelance writer.{{cite web |title=The women in Shashi Tharoor's life |url=https://www.asiaone.com/asia/women-shashi-tharoors-life |website=AsiaOne |access-date=3 July 2019 |date=21 January 2014 |archive-date=3 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703175200/https://www.asiaone.com/asia/women-shashi-tharoors-life |url-status=live }} Their twin sons,{{cite news |title=Shashi Tharoor's son gets married |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/150817/nation-current-affairs/article/shashi-tharoor%E2%80%99s-son-gets-married |access-date=5 July 2019 |date=17 August 2015 |archive-date=22 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122190430/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150817/nation-current-affairs/article/shashi-tharoor%E2%80%99s-son-gets-married |url-status=live }} Kanishk and Ishaan, were born prematurely in 1984 at the KK Hospital in Singapore.{{cite news |last1=Kumar |first1=V.K. Santosh |title=KK Hospital saved his premature twins |url=https://www.tabla.com.sg/jrsrc/200418full/epage012013/TA20180420-TAB-012-00-013.html |access-date=5 July 2019 |work=tabla.com.sg |archive-date=5 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705213621/https://www.tabla.com.sg/jrsrc/200418full/epage012013/TA20180420-TAB-012-00-013.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title='Welcome to the family, Mother', Tharoor's sons welcome Sunanda Pushkar |work=Mid-Day |date=23 August 2010 |url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/welcome-to-the-family-amma-tharoor-s-sons-welcome-sunanda-46502 |access-date=18 January 2014 |archive-date=1 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201152306/http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/welcome-to-the-family-amma-tharoor-s-sons-welcome-sunanda-46502 |url-status=live }} Ishaan is a former senior editor at Time magazine, and now writes on foreign affairs for The Washington Post.{{Cite news|title=Ishaan Tharoor|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/ishaan-tharoor/|access-date=22 July 2020|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|archive-date=21 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721220958/https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/ishaan-tharoor/|url-status=live}} Kanishk is a former editor at Open Democracy and is the author of the highly praised short story collection Swimmer Among The Stars.{{Cite web|title=Meet literary hotshots and squad of two—Ishaan and Kanishk Tharoor|url=https://www.vogue.in/content/meet-literary-hotshots-and-squad-of-two-ishaan-and-kanishk-tharoor|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Vogue India|date=10 March 2016 |language=en-IN|archive-date=29 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129065944/https://www.vogue.in/content/meet-literary-hotshots-and-squad-of-two-ishaan-and-kanishk-tharoor|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |title=Ishaan Tharoor |url=https://world.time.com/author/itharoor/ |magazine=Time |access-date=19 January 2014 |archive-date=13 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213071815/http://world.time.com/author/itharoor/ |url-status=live }} Tilottama is currently a professor of humanities at New York University.{{Cite news |title=Tharoor & the tale of ex and estranged spouses, Neha Tara Mehta |work=India Today |date=14 April 2010 |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Tharoor+&+the+tale+of+ex+and+estranged+spouses/1/92750.html |access-date=3 December 2021 |archive-date=24 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224064425/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Tharoor+%26+the+tale+of+ex+and+estranged+spouses/1/92750.html |url-status=live }}

Tharoor and Tilottama were divorced at some point. In 2007, Tharoor married Christa Giles, a Canadian diplomat working at the United Nations.{{cite web|url = http://ekikrat.in/Shashi-Tharoor|title = Shashi Tharoor|access-date = 22 August 2010|publisher = Ekikrat|archive-date = 25 September 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090925073927/http://ekikrat.in/Shashi-Tharoor|url-status = live}} This marriage was short-lived and childless. Tharoor next married Dubai-based businesswoman a Kashmiri Pandit Sunanda Pushkar at his ancestral home in Elavanchery village in Kerala's Palakkad district on 22 August 2010. He became her third husband, and step-father to her son Shiv Menon, born of a previous marriage. On 17 January 2014, Pushkar (aged 51) died at The Leela Hotel in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, under mysterious circumstances.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/sunanda-pushkar-died-an-unnatural-sudden-death-say-aiims-doctors-body-cremated/story-8n8tfrlu60jSVJwntInl4N.html|title=Sunanda Pushkar died an unnatural sudden death say AIIMS doctors; body cremated|date=18 January 2014|website=Hindustan Times|access-date=16 April 2019|archive-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416111142/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/sunanda-pushkar-died-an-unnatural-sudden-death-say-aiims-doctors-body-cremated/story-8n8tfrlu60jSVJwntInl4N.html|url-status=live}} In May 2018, Tharoor was charged with encouraging the suicide of his wife and marital cruelty under sections 306 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code.{{Cite web|title=Shashi Tharoor charged in Sunanda Pushkar death case|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/shashi-tharoor-charged-in-sunanda-pushkar-death-case/article23881302.ece|access-date=10 March 2021|website=@businessline|date=14 May 2018 |language=en|archive-date=18 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518045749/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/shashi-tharoor-charged-in-sunanda-pushkar-death-case/article23881302.ece|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=10 October 2021|title=Shashi Tharoor abetted Sunanda Pushkar's suicide, says chargesheet |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/shashi-tharoor-abetted-sunanda-pushkars-suicide-says-chargesheet/articleshow/64166166.cms|access-date=10 March 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109040646/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/shashi-tharoor-abetted-sunanda-pushkars-suicide-says-chargesheet/articleshow/64166166.cms|url-status=live}} On 18 August 2021, a court in Delhi discharged Tharoor from all the charges.{{Cite news |url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/sunanda-pushkar-death-case-delhi-court-clears-shashi-tharoor-of-all-charges-11629265460504.html |title=Shashi Tharoor cleared from all Charges |date=18 August 2021 |work=Mint |access-date=18 August 2021 |archive-date=18 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818060529/https://www.livemint.com/news/india/sunanda-pushkar-death-case-delhi-court-clears-shashi-tharoor-of-all-charges/amp-11629265460504.html |url-status=live }}

Tharoor is a vegetarian and he "abhors the idea of consuming the corpses of animals," although he claimed that he does not have a problem with those who do. He has stated that he is "very proud of being a Hindu" and that he's a "worshipping" and "believing Hindu". Tharoor also claims to have read a "fair amount" of the Upanishads.{{cite news|last1=Ramesh|first1=M.|title=I am very proud of being a Hindu|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/i-am-very-proud-of-being-a-hindu/article8210101.ece|access-date=29 October 2017|work=Business Line|date=8 February 2016|archive-date=18 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518061727/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/i-am-very-proud-of-being-a-hindu/article8210101.ece|url-status=live}}

In April 2019, Tharoor had an accident when praying during a Thulabharam ritual at a temple in Thiruvananthapuram. After being discharged, he sought a probe by the government into the incident.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/out-of-hospital-shashi-tharoor-seeks-probe-into-temple-accident/story-LfrtCDrlb3eoTdHgV0PFQJ.html|title=Out of hospital, Shashi Tharoor seeks probe into temple accident|date=16 April 2019|website=Hindustan Times|access-date=17 April 2019|archive-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416131240/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/out-of-hospital-shashi-tharoor-seeks-probe-into-temple-accident/story-LfrtCDrlb3eoTdHgV0PFQJ.html|url-status=live}}

His mother-tongue is Malayalam.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4CR7hQGmVU| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/s4CR7hQGmVU| archive-date=7 November 2021 | url-status=live|title=Dr. Shashi Tharoor on Religion & Personal Life (Malayalam)| date=26 February 2018|via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}

Shashi Tharoor was one of the first nine celebrities nominated in 2014 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spread awareness regarding cleanliness, hygiene and good sanitation and make Swachh Bharat Mission a people's movement.{{cite news|date=2 October 2014|title=PM launches Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan|url=http://www.narendramodi.in/pm-launches-swachh-bharat-abhiyaan/|access-date=2 October 2014|archive-date=16 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316220600/http://www.narendramodi.in/pm-launches-swachh-bharat-abhiyaan/|url-status=live}} He responded by cleaning the Vizhinjam port on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram.{{Cite web|date=2 October 2014|title=Swachh Bharat: PM Modi ropes in celebrities for his 'Swachh Bharat' challenge {{!}} India News |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PM-Modi-ropes-in-celebrities-for-his-Swachh-Bharat-challenge/articleshow/44121679.cms|access-date=31 July 2020|website=The Times of India|language=en|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112014515/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PM-Modi-ropes-in-celebrities-for-his-Swachh-Bharat-challenge/articleshow/44121679.cms|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=25 October 2014|title=Tharoor joins PM's 'Swachh Bharat' campaign|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/tharoor-joins-pm-s-swachh-bharat-campaign/story-s5lP1tb3AdLnFpkZ61KzBK.html|access-date=31 July 2020|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}

Currently, he is on the Board of Advisors of India's International Movement to Unite Nations (I.I.M.U.N.).{{Cite web|title=I.I.M.U.N. {{!}}{{!}} Board of Advisors|url=https://new.iimun.in/pages/BoA.html|access-date=17 July 2021|website=new.iimun.in|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717042250/https://new.iimun.in/pages/BoA.html|url-status=live}}

File:Farooq Abdullah addressing after being conferred the Civilian Honour by the Spain Government on the occasion of the National Day of Spain, in New Delhi. The Ambassador of Spain to India.jpg by Government of Spain on the occasion of the National Day of Spain to Tharoor and Farooq Abdullah.]]

• 1976 – Rajika Kripalani Young Journalist Award for the Best Indian Journalist under 30.{{cite book |title=South Asian Novelists in English: An A-To-Z Guide |first=Gita |last=Rajan |editor-first=Jaina C. |editor-last=Sanga |page=308 |isbn=0-313-31885-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qlpKOzsOc-IC&pg=PA281|year=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing }}
• 1990 – Federation of Indian Publishers' Hindustan Times Literary Award for the Best Book of the Year for The Great Indian Novel.{{cite web|url=https://www.elections.in/political-leaders/shashi-tharoor.html|title=Shashi Tharoor|publisher=India's first election website|access-date=19 February 2020|archive-date=4 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004051145/http://www.elections.in/political-leaders/shashi-tharoor.html|url-status=live}}
• 1991 – Commonwealth Writers' Prize for the Best Book of the Year in the Eurasian Region, for The Great Indian Novel
• 1998 – Excelsior Award for excellence in literature, Association of Indians in America (AIA){{citation needed|date=February 2020}} and the Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP).
• 1998 – Global Leader of Tomorrow, World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2002/sga803.doc.htm|title=Appointment of Shashi Tharoor as under-secretary-general for communications and public information confirmed by secretary-general|publisher=United Nations|access-date=16 May 2018|archive-date=16 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516175014/https://www.un.org/press/en/2002/sga803.doc.htm|url-status=live}}
• 2004 – {{Flag|India}} : 80px Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, India's highest honour for non-resident Indians (accepted 2007{{cite news

|url=http://hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=1756e2bb-7259-4d02-80a6-5fa5350b0fec&MatchID1=4461&TeamID1=10&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=2&SeriesID1=1108&PrimaryID=4461&Headline=Tharoor+gets+Pravasi+Samman

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930060932/http://hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=1756e2bb-7259-4d02-80a6-5fa5350b0fec&MatchID1=4461&TeamID1=10&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=2&SeriesID1=1108&PrimaryID=4461&Headline=Tharoor+gets+Pravasi+Samman

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=30 September 2007

|date=9 May 2007 |title=Tharoor honoured with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award |access-date=10 May 2007 |work=Hindustan Times}})

• 2009 – Zakir Hussain Memorial "Pride of India" Award.{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/BSP/images/Shashitharoorbio.pdf|title=Shashi Tharoor biographical note|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-date=25 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325232442/http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/BSP/images/Shashitharoorbio.pdf|url-status=live}}
• 2009 – Inspiration of the Year Award at GQ's Man of the Year Awards.{{cite web|work=GQ|title=Gallery: GQ India's Men of the Year Awards 2009|url=http://travel.cnn.com/mumbai/play/gallery-gq-indias-men-year-awards-2009-827493/|publisher=CNN|access-date=29 October 2017|date=11 October 2009|archive-date=29 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029121044/http://travel.cnn.com/mumbai/play/gallery-gq-indias-men-year-awards-2009-827493/|url-status=live}}
• 2009 – Hakim Khan Sur Award for National Integration, Maharana of Udaipur.{{cite web|url=https://www.meridian.org/profile/dr-shashi-tharoor/|title=Dr. Shashi Tharoor|publisher=Meridian news}}
• 2010 – Sarva Deshiya Prathibha Award, Pazhassiraja Charitable Trust, Kozhikode.{{cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/01/stories/2009120154130400.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091205232137/http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/01/stories/2009120154130400.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 December 2009 |title=Pazhassi awards announced |location=Chennai, India |work=The Hindu |date=1 December 2009}}
• 2010 – "New Age Politician of the Year" Award, at NDTV's Indian of the Year awards.{{cite news|title=Shashi Tharoor|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/litfest/delhi-litfest-2016/speakers/Shashi-Tharoor/articleshow/55050099.cms|work=The Times of India|date=25 October 2016 |access-date=29 October 2017|archive-date=25 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125084343/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/litfest/delhi-litfest-2016/speakers/Shashi-Tharoor/articleshow/55050099.cms|url-status=live}}
• 2010 – Fifth IILM Distinguished Global Thinker Award, New Delhi.{{cite web |url=http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/education/2010030845120.htm |title=Dr Shashi Tharoor receives the Fifth IILM Distinguished Global Thinker Award, 2010 |work=India PR Wire |access-date=9 March 2010 |archive-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310153231/http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/education/2010030845120.htm |url-status=live }}
• 2010 – Digital person of the year, Indian Digital Media Awards (IDMA), for popularising the digital medium in India.{{cite web |url=http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/izone1/izone_fullstory.asp?Section_id=4&News_id=37480&Tag=2859 |title=IDMA 2010: G2 Direct & Digital, Tata Tea, Anil Ambani, Shashi Tharoor among host of winners |work=exchange4media Mumbai Bureau |access-date=12 March 2010 |archive-date=15 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315072503/http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/izone1/izone_fullstory.asp?Section_id=4&News_id=37480&Tag=2859 |url-status=live }}
• 2012 – {{Flag|Spain}} : 80px Commander of the Order of Charles III by King of Spain
• 2013 – First Sree Narayan Guru Global Secular and Peace Award at Thiruvananthapuram.
• 2013 – PETA's "Person of the Year".{{cite news |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-12-27/news/45627050_1_peta-india-non-animal-methods-ethical-treatment |title=Shashi Tharoor PETA's 'person of the year' |work=The Economic Times |date=27 December 2013 |access-date=30 December 2013 |archive-date=30 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235830/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-12-27/news/45627050_1_peta-india-non-animal-methods-ethical-treatment |url-status=dead }}
• 2019 – Sahitya Akademi Award for his book, An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India.{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/people/story/shashi-tharoor-wins-sahitya-akademi-award-2019-for-an-era-of-darkness-1629374-2019-12-18|title=Shashi Tharoor wins Sahitya Akademi Award 2019 for An Era Of Darkness|date=18 December 2019|website=India Today|access-date=18 December 2019|archive-date=9 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109190907/https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/people/story/shashi-tharoor-wins-sahitya-akademi-award-2019-for-an-era-of-darkness-1629374-2019-12-18|url-status=live}}
• 2022 – {{Flag|France}} : 80px Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur, for his writings and speeches{{Cite web |date=2022-08-11 |title=Delhi Confidential: Shashi Tharoor to receive Legion Of Honour, France's highest civilian award |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi-confidential/delhi-confidential-shashi-tharoor-legion-of-honour-8083564/ |access-date=2022-08-11 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-08-11 |title=Shashi Tharoor to receive France's highest civilian award, party leaders congratulate him |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/shashi-tharoor-to-receive-france-s-highest-civilian-award-party-leaders-congratulate-him-101660228690866.html |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}

• Honorary Doctor of Letters in International Affairs from University of Puget Sound
• Doctor Honoris Causa in history from University of Bucharest.{{cite web |url=http://www.prsindia.org/mptrack/shashitharoor |title=MP Track: Shashi Tharoor |work=PRS Legislative Research |access-date=16 January 2016 |archive-date=28 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128071849/http://www.prsindia.org/mptrack/shashitharoor |url-status=live }}

• The Great Indian Novel (1989){{cite book |title=The Great Indian Novel |first=Shashi |last=Tharoor |page=423 |isbn=1-55970-194-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tyNahb9XtQsC|year=1993 |publisher=Arcade }}
• The Five Dollar Smile and Other Stories (1990){{cite book |title=The Five Dollar Smile and Other Stories |first=Shashi |last=Tharoor |page=175 |isbn=1-55970-225-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V8xlAAAAMAAJ|year=1993 |publisher=Arcade Pub. }}
• Show Business (1992){{cite book |title=Show Business |first=Shashi |last=Tharoor |page=320 |isbn=978-1-61145-407-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7pCu5RD2JX0C |date=18 April 2011 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-date=3 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203213848/https://books.google.com/books?id=7pCu5RD2JX0C |url-status=live }}
• Riot (2001)

• Reasons of State (1985){{cite book |title=Reasons of state: political development and India's foreign policy under Indira Gandhi |first=Shashi |last=Tharoor |year=1982 |page=438 |publisher=Vikas Publishing House |isbn=0-7069-1275-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n1RuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-date=3 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203213839/https://books.google.com/books?id=n1RuAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
• India: From Midnight to the Millennium (1997){{cite book |title=India: From Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond |first=Shashi |last=Tharoor |page=420 |isbn=1-55970-803-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fRSC_uTGhZ8C |year=2006 |publisher=Arcade |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204131427/https://books.google.com/books?id=fRSC_uTGhZ8C |url-status=live }}
• Nehru: The Invention of India.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nehruinventionof00thar|title=Nehru : the invention of India : Tharoor, Shashi, 1956– : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive|via=Internet Archive|year=2003|isbn=9781559706971|last1=Tharoor|first1=Shashi|publisher=Arcade }} Arcade Publishing (2003). New York. First edition. {{isbn|9781559706971}}{{cite book |title=Nehru: The Invention of India |first=Shashi |last=Tharoor |page=282 |isbn=1-55970-697-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3axLmUHCJ4cC |year=2003 |publisher=Arcade |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-date=16 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516074004/http://books.google.com/books?id=3axLmUHCJ4cC |url-status=live }}
• Bookless in Baghdad (2005){{cite book |title=Bookless in Baghdad: Reflections on Writing and Writers |first=Shashi |last=Tharoor |page=288 |isbn=978-1-61145-408-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KZkbZtvep8gC |date=April 2012 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-date=3 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203213848/https://books.google.com/books?id=KZkbZtvep8gC |url-status=live }}
• The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India – The Emerging 21st-Century Power (2007){{cite book |title=The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India – The Emerging 21st-Century Power |first=Shashi |last=Tharoor |page=512 |isbn=978-1-61145-393-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqvpZutXN7cC |year=2007 |publisher=Penguin Books India |access-date=29 November 2019 |archive-date=19 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319061103/https://books.google.com/books?id=uqvpZutXN7cC |url-status=live }}
• Shadows Across the Playing Field: Sixty Years of India-Pakistan Cricket (2009) (with Shaharyar Khan){{cite book |title=Shadows Across the Playing Field: 60 Years of India-Pakistan Cricket |first1=Shashi |last1=Tharoor |first2=Shaharyar Mohammed |last2=Khan |year=2009 |page=189 |publisher=Roli Books |isbn=978-81-7436-718-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sq0fQAAACAAJ |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-date=3 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203213836/https://books.google.com/books?id=Sq0fQAAACAAJ |url-status=live }}
• Upworldly Mobile: Behaviour and Business Skills for the New Indian manager (2011) (foreword, with Ranjini Manian)
• Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century (2012){{Cite book|last=Tharoor|first=Shashi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URqYQxNYHBIC&q=pax+indica+shashi|title=Pax Indica: India and the World of the Twenty-first Century|date=15 June 2013|publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited|isbn=978-81-8475-693-7|language=en|access-date=29 November 2021|archive-date=3 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203213821/https://books.google.com/books?id=URqYQxNYHBIC&q=pax+indica+shashi|url-status=live}}
• India: the Future is Now (Editor) (2013)
• India Shastra: Reflections on the Nation in our Time (2015)
• Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India (2017),{{cite web |url=http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/inglorious-empire/ |title=New release: Inglorious Empire by Shashi Tharoor |last=Singh |first=Kanwal |date=3 March 2017 |access-date=4 March 2017 |archive-date=24 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424210326/https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/inglorious-empire/ |url-status=live }} first published in India as An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India (2016).{{cite web |url=https://kitaab.org/2016/10/23/new-release-an-era-of-darkness-the-british-empire-in-india-by-shashi-tharoor/ |title=New release: An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India by Shashi Tharoor |last=Sheikh |first=Aminah |date=23 October 2016 |access-date=16 November 2016 |archive-date=17 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117063020/https://kitaab.org/2016/10/23/new-release-an-era-of-darkness-the-british-empire-in-india-by-shashi-tharoor/ |url-status=live }}
• Why I Am A Hindu (2018){{cite web|url=http://www.alephbookcompany.com/book/why-i-am-a-hindu/|title=Why I am a Hindu|date=28 December 2017|access-date=15 May 2018|archive-date=25 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525105321/http://www.alephbookcompany.com/book/why-i-am-a-hindu/|url-status=live}}
• The Paradoxical Prime Minister (2018)
• The Hindu Way (2019)
• The New World Disorder and the Indian Imperative (2020), co-authored with Samir Saran.{{cite news | title=Book review: The New World Disorder and the Indian Imperative by Shashi Tharoor and Samir Saran | first=Suhasini | last=Haidar | url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/book-review-the-new-world-disorder-and-the-indian-imperative-by-shashi-tharoor-and-samir-saran/article30644414.ece | work=The Hindu | date=25 February 2020 | access-date=4 February 2020 | archive-date=26 January 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126135106/https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/book-review-the-new-world-disorder-and-the-indian-imperative-by-shashi-tharoor-and-samir-saran/article30644414.ece | url-status=live }}
• The Battle of Belonging (2020){{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/the-battle-of-belonging-review-idea-of-india-in-peril/article33038704.ece|title='The Battle of Belonging' review: 'Idea of India' in peril|first=Mohammed|last=Ayoob|newspaper=The Hindu|date=8 November 2020|access-date=11 November 2020|archive-date=10 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110233141/https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/the-battle-of-belonging-review-idea-of-india-in-peril/article33038704.ece|url-status=live}}
• Tharoorosaurus (2020){{Cite book|last=Tharoor|first=Shashi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MsH4DwAAQBAJ&q=tharoorosaurus|title=Tharoorosaurus|date=1 September 2020|publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited|isbn=978-93-5305-951-4|language=en|access-date=23 November 2021|archive-date=3 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203213810/https://books.google.com/books?id=MsH4DwAAQBAJ&q=tharoorosaurus|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Kumar|first=K. c Vijaya|date=26 September 2020|title=Tharoorosaurus review: A to Z of Tharoor's rich lexicon|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/tharoorosaurus-review-a-to-z-of-tharoors-rich-lexicon/article32693514.ece|access-date=6 September 2021|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=15 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915072943/https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/tharoorosaurus-review-a-to-z-of-tharoors-rich-lexicon/article32693514.ece|url-status=live}}
• Pride, Prejudice and Punditry: The Essential Shashi Tharoor (2021){{cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/hindutva-is-like-a-british-football-team-hooligan-shashi-tharoor-pride-prejudice-and-punditry-book-7628663/|title='Hindutva is like a British football-team hooligan': Shashi Tharoor|date=18 November 2021|website=The Indian Express|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122191458/https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/hindutva-is-like-a-british-football-team-hooligan-shashi-tharoor-pride-prejudice-and-punditry-book-7628663/|url-status=live}} {{ISBN|9390652278}}
• The Struggle for India's Soul: Nationalism and the Fate of Democracy (2021)Tunku Varadarajan, "'The Struggle for India's Soul' Review: Nationalism in New Delhi: An Indian politician and writer calls for a return to liberal ideals." [https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-struggle-for-indias-soul-book-review-shashi-tharoor-narendra-modi-nationalism-in-new-delhi-11638546520?mod=books_arts_featured_pos1 Wall Street Journal 3 Dec 2021]
• Ambedkar: A Life (2022){{Cite news |last=Sampath |first=G. |date=2022-09-30 |title=Review of Shashi Tharoor's Ambedkar — A Life: Writing the constitutionalist |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/ambedkar-life-book-shashi-tharoor/article65940988.ece |access-date=2022-10-06 |issn=0971-751X}}
• A Wonderland of Words: Around The World In 101 Essays (2024){{Cite web |date=2024-08-31 |title=Shashi Tharoor's New Book 'A Wonderland Of Words' Is About The 'Origin Of Words'; Everything You Need To Know |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/lifestyle/books/events/shashi-tharoors-new-book-a-wonderland-of-words-is-about-the-origin-of-words-everything-you-need-to-know-article-112942171 |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Times Now |language=en}}

• Kerala: God's Own Country (2002) (along with artist M.F. Husain).{{cite book |title=Kerala, God's own country |first=Shashi |last=Tharoor |date=January 2003 |page=57 |publisher=Books Today |isbn=81-87478-43-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BJluAAAAMAAJ |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-date=3 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203213810/https://books.google.com/books?id=BJluAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}
• Inde (in French) or India (in English) (2008) along with photographer Ferrante Ferranti.

• Shashi Tharoor's Oxford Union speech
• List of Indian writers

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Shashi Tharoor}}

{{wikiquote|Shashi Tharoor}}

• {{Official website|http://www.shashitharoor.in/}}
• {{Instagram|id=shashitharoor|name=Shashi Tharoor}}
• [http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Members/MemberBioprofile.aspx?mpsno=4569 Dr Shashi Tharoor] Official bio-data at Lok Sabha, Parliament of India
• [http://archivepmo.nic.in/drmanmohansingh/pmsteam.php Cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh] Prime Ministers Office, Archived
• [https://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/stories/shashi_bio.asp Shashi Tharoor] at United Nations
• {{NYTtopic|people/t/shashi_tharoor}}
• [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Shashi-Tharoor Shashi Tharoor] collected news and commentary at The Times of India
• {{Cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCjYgVVd_po| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/aCjYgVVd_po| archive-date=7 November 2021 | url-status=live|title=Why Is PM Narendra Modi 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister'? {{!}} The Interview With Shashi Tharoor|type=Videotape|language=English|publisher=ET Now}}{{cbignore}}
• {{C-SPAN|57692}}
• {{IMDb name|0857076}}
• {{OL author|id=OL207696A}}
• [https://www.literaturfestival.com/medien/texte/eroeffnungsreden/tharoor-engl Globalization and the Human Imagination] Opening speech of the 3. international literature festival berlin

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| title = Member of Parliament
for Thiruvananthapuram

| years = 2009

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| before = {{Not sure}}

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| title = Secretary-General
UN Communications and Public Information

| years = 2001–2007

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| after = Kiyotaka Akasaka

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{{s-end}}{{Malayalam Literature}}{{17th LS members from Kerala}}

{{16th LS members from Kerala}}

{{Cabinet of Manmohan Singh}}{{Portal bar|Biography|Literature|Politics|Socialism|Hinduism|India}}{{Authority control}}

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{{Sahitya Akademi Award for English}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tharoor, Shashi}}

Category:1956 births

Category:Living people

Category:British people of Indian descent

Category:Writers from Palakkad

Category:Malayali politicians

Category:Indian diplomats

Category:Indian male novelists

Category:Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations

Category:Indian officials of the United Nations

Category:The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni

Category:Tufts University alumni

Category:India MPs 2009–2014

Category:English-language writers from India

Category:Delhi University alumni

Category:Lok Sabha members from Kerala

Category:India MPs 2014–2019

Category:20th-century Indian novelists

Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala

Category:Novelists from Kerala

Category:Indian political writers

Category:Indian writers

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Category:20th-century Indian journalists

Category:Indian male journalists

Category:21st-century Indian novelists

Category:Journalists from Kerala

Category:The Times of India journalists

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Category:India MPs 2019–2024

Category:Union ministers of state of India

Category:Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman

Category:India MPs 2024–2029

Category:Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance candidates in 2024 Indian general election