Bio
Shashi Tharoor is an Indian politician and a member of parliament (MP) from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala.
He previously served as the United Nations under-secretary general for communications and public information and as the minister of state for the Ministry of External Affairs.
He is also a prolific author, columnist, and journalist, and a human rights advocate.
Featured Work
MAR 18, 2008 • Podcast
A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity
"In spite of being stingy, and in spite of being late, and in spite of being half-hearted, we are making progress," says Egeland. But we ...
NOV 7, 2007 • Podcast
The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India, the Emerging 21st-Century Power
Diversity, says Shashi Tharoor, is the very essence and strength of India. Rather than a melting pot, it is more like an Indian "thali," with ...
JUN 12, 2006 • Podcast
Debate--The United Nations: Still Relevant After All These Years?
Is the UN "I" for irrelevant, or "I" for indispensable, as Shashi Tharoor would have it? While conceding that the UN is relevant, Ruth Wedgwood ...
MAR 8, 2006 • Podcast
Public Philosophy: Episodes and Arguments in American Civic Life
Professor Michael Sandel argues that there is an allergy among liberals to using substantive moral, and even religious arguments in politics. Yet, he notes, "it's ...
NOV 13, 2003 • Transcript
Nehru: The Invention of India
Shashi Tharoor assesses the legacy of Nehru, the man who "through his writings, his speeches, his leadership,...invented India in an extraordinary way."
NOV 28, 2001 • Transcript
Sectarian Violence in India: The Story of the One Riot
In this talk, Shashi Tharoor discusses his latest novel, based on a series of religious riots in India in the late 1980s and addressing issues ...