Dr Shashi Tharoor, member of Indian Parliament and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Parliament on External Affairs, addressing a community gathering at Birla Public School Doha, on Saturday. Also seen is Ambassador of India to Qatar, P Kumaran (s
Dr Shashi Tharoor, an Indian parliamentarian and writer has advised the students to look into the realities around them and study both theory and the practical aspects of a subject as both are inevitable.
“Learning – both the theoretical and practical aspects – is necessary and important as they bring out the best in the learning process. This can help the learners with wholesome learning and benefit in the long run,” said Tharoor while addressing students at Birla Public School (BPS) during his short visit to Doha on Saturday.
The event was attended by Ambassador of India to Qatar, P Kumaran, BPS chairman Lukose Chacko, Founder President Dr Mohan Thomas, Board Member C Rappai and a large number of dignitaries and guasts.
Shashi Tharoor said that all information is available on internet from where the students can download the answers. “It is not what you learn but how you learn and how you make use of your learning is important and that will bring in all the difference in the learning process,” said Tharoor.
He said that while in today’s world of information technology, what one needs is a well-formed mind rather than a well-filled mind capable of dealing with unfamiliar issues, facts and figures.
Speaking on unity of India in diversity, Tharoor said: I believe in unity of India, not in uniformity. Unity is the idea of believing in your own principles as well as disagreeing with others’ ideologies. But, at the same time, it allows everyone to lead a cordial and hearty relationship irrespective of colour, caste, creed, costumes or cuisine. India is founded on the very idea of plurality.”
An author, politician, and former international civil servant, Shashi Tharoor straddles several worlds of experience, according to his official website. Currently a second-term Lok Sabha MP representing the Thiruvananthapuram constituency and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, he has previously served as Minister of State for Human Resource Development and Minister of State for External Affairs in the Government of India.
During his nearly three-decade long prior career at the United Nations, he served as a peacekeeper, refugee worker, and administrator at the highest levels, serving as Under-Secretary General during Kofi Annan’s leadership of the organisation. Dr. Tharoor is also an award-winning author of works of both fiction as well as non-fiction, with his sixteenth book due for release in November 2016.
Born in London in 1956, Dr. Tharoor was educated in India and the United States, completing a PhD in 1978 at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. While there, he received the Robert B. Stewart Prize for Best Student and also helped found and served as the first Editor of the Fletcher Forum of International Affairs, a journal now in its 39th year.
