Shashi Tharoor
Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, author and former UN Under-Secretary-General
- Age
- 70 yrs
- Birthday in 133 days
- Works listed
- 5
- Novel, Non-fiction
- Honours
- 3
- Most recent 2022
- Profile views
- 1
- 0 followers
Shashi Tharoor is a Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, a prolific author and a former UN Under-Secretary-General. He has represented the constituency since 2009 and won the Sahitya Akademi Award for An Era of Darkness.
Biography
Education and UN career
Born in London to a Malayali family, Tharoor grew up in Mumbai and Kolkata and studied history at St Stephen’s College, Delhi. At the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University he completed a PhD at the age of 22.
He joined the United Nations in 1978, working with the refugee agency UNHCR and in peacekeeping, and rose to Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information (2002–07). In 2006 he was India’s candidate for UN Secretary-General, finishing second to Ban Ki-moon.
Politics
Tharoor won Thiruvananthapuram for the Congress in 2009 and has held it in every election since. He served as Minister of State for External Affairs (2009–10) and for Human Resource Development (2012–14). In 2022 he contested the Congress presidential election, losing to Mallikarjun Kharge, and in 2024 he became chair of the parliamentary committee on external affairs.
Writer
Tharoor has written more than 20 books, including the satirical The Great Indian Novel (1989), An Era of Darkness (2016) on British rule in India, and Why I Am a Hindu (2018). His speech at the Oxford Union in 2015 arguing that Britain owes reparations to its former colonies became widely viewed online. He is also known for his extensive English vocabulary.
Public intellectual
Tharoor writes columns for international and Indian newspapers and is known for his elaborate English vocabulary; words such as “farrago” and “floccinaucinihilipilification” went viral after he used them on social media. He has argued for a pluralist idea of India in books such as The Hindu Way and The Battle of Belonging.
Personal life and controversies
Tharoor has been married three times — to Tilottama Mukherji, Christa Giles and Sunanda Pushkar — and has twin sons, Kanishk and Ishaan, both writers. Sunanda Pushkar died in a Delhi hotel in 2014; Tharoor was charged in the case but was discharged by a Delhi court in 2021. He resigned as minister in 2010 over the IPL Kochi franchise row.
Timeline
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1956
Born in London, United Kingdom
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1978
Joins the United Nations
Begins with UNHCR in Geneva.
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1989
Publishes The Great Indian Novel
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2002
UN Under-Secretary-General
Communications and Public Information.
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2006
Candidate for UN Secretary-General
Finishes second.
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2009
Elected MP for Thiruvananthapuram
Minister of State for External Affairs.
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2010
Resigns as Minister of State for External Affairs
IPL Kochi franchise controversy.
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2015
Oxford Union speech on British colonial reparations
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2019
Sahitya Akademi Award
For An Era of Darkness.
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2021
Discharged in the Sunanda Pushkar case
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2022
Contests Congress presidential election
Loses to Mallikarjun Kharge.
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2024
Wins a fourth term
Chairs the standing committee on external affairs.
Notable works
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1989
The Great Indian Novel Novel
A satirical retelling of the Mahabharata as Indian political history.
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2016
An Era of Darkness Non-fiction
The British Empire in India; published abroad as Inglorious Empire.
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2018
Why I Am a Hindu Non-fiction
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2012
Pax Indica Non-fiction
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2020
The Battle of Belonging Non-fiction
Awards and honours
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Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
2004
-
Sahitya Akademi Award
2019 · For An Era of Darkness.
-
Chevalier of the Legion of Honour
2022 · France’s highest civilian distinction; announced in 2022.
Did you know?
-
1
He earned his doctorate at 22, among the youngest to do so at the Fletcher School.
-
2
His Oxford Union speech on colonial reparations went viral in 2015.
-
3
His unusual English words often trend on social media.
-
4
Both of his sons are writers and journalists.
Gallery
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Shashi Tharoor?
Shashi Tharoor is a Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, a prolific author and a former UN Under-Secretary-General. He has represented the constituency since 2009 and won the Sahitya Akademi Award for An Era of Darkness.
How old is Shashi Tharoor?
Shashi Tharoor is 70 years old, born on 9 March 1956 in London, United Kingdom.
Where is Shashi Tharoor from?
Shashi Tharoor was born in London, United Kingdom.
What is Shashi Tharoor known for?
Shashi Tharoor is best known for Best-selling books on Indian history and politics; a 29-year career at the United Nations.
What awards has Shashi Tharoor received?
Notable honours include Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2004), Sahitya Akademi Award (2019), Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (2022).
References
- Shashi Tharoor — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Shashi Tharoor — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Shashi Tharoor — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Shashi Tharoor — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Shashi Tharoor — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Official website. tharoor.in. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
- Shashi Tharoor (Q195616) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 26 October 2026.
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editors; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal
- First published 26 October 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Shashi Tharoor.” TrackFame, last updated 27 October 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/shashi-tharoor
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