Shashi Tharoor receives France’s highest civilian honour

Mangalore Today /NDTV

New Delhi, Feb 21, 2024: Shashi Tharoor, a prolific author and a diplomat-turned-politician, was conferred France’s highest civilian honour ’Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur’ at a ceremony here on Tuesday.

Author of several books and the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor was conferred the prestigious award at the French Embassy by French Senate President Gerard Larcher. The French government had announced the award for Tharoor, a former Union minister, in August 2022 but was conferred on him on Tuesday.

"The highest French civilian award came in recognition of Dr Tharoor’s tireless efforts to deepen Indo-French ties, commitment to international peace and cooperation, and as a long-standing friend of France," a statement issued by the French Embassy said.

Conferring the honour on Mr Tharoor, Chairman of the French Senate Larcher said, "Through his outstanding career as a diplomat, author and politician, Shashi Tharoor has embraced the world with a thirst for knowledge and an intelligence that has led him to live several lifetimes in one, and all of them in service to India and a better world." "Dr Tharoor is also a true friend of France, a Francophone with a keen understanding of France and its culture. Through this award, which I have the privilege to confer, the French Republic recognises your accomplishments, your friendship, your love of France, your commitment to a fairer world," Larcher said.

Receiving the recognition, Mr Tharoor said he was immensely honoured to accept the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour).

"As someone who admires France, its people, their refinement, their language, and their culture, especially their literature and cinema, I am deeply humbled to be conferred your country’s highest civilian honour.

"To my mind, the conferral of this award to an Indian is an acknowledgement of the deepening of Franco-Indian relations and the continuity of the warmth that has been a feature of this relationship for a very long time," Tharoor said.