Former UN Under Secretary General Shashi Tharoor has been conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by the Indian Government in appreciation of his brilliant record as an international civil servant and contribution as a writer on social, political and international issues.
Ambassador to the United Nations Ronen Sen. bestowed the honour
at a function attended by NRIs in the US, the co Chairs of the
Congressional caucus on India, representatives from the Democratic
and Republican parties and senior members of Congress.
Tharoor had earlier been conferred the award in 2004 but was
unable to accept it as UN laws proscribed acceptance of honours
from foreign governments.
Privileged to receive the tribute, Shashi Tharoor said he was
proud to have been in the reckoning for the Secretary General’s role, and fortunate to be given the opportunity to represent India’s values and principles to the world during his tenure.
Tharoor started his career with the United Nations in 1978 as
a staffer in the UN High Commission for Refugees in Geneva. He
has won acclaim in the international political arena with the "Global Leader of Tomorrow" award instituted by the Economic World Forum in Davos in 1998.Recognition of his contribution to writing came his way with the Commonwealth Writers’ prize.
He has authored nine books and hundreds of articles for international
publications which include the New York Times, the Washington
Post, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, The Times of India and
Hindu.
