Why Shashi Tharoor refused the ‘Veer Savarkar’ award

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who has recently been in the news more due to his perceived closeness with the rival BJP and its top leadership, on Wednesday categorically stated that he would neither accept an award named after Vinayak Damodar Savarkar nor attend any event related to the leader revered by the saffron party as a nationalist icon and freedom fighter, whose ideology of Hindutva inspires the RSS, the BJP’s ideological fountainhead.

The Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, who has drawn criticism from party colleagues on several occasions for statements favouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called it “irresponsible” of the organisers to announce his name without his consent. The Highrange Rural Development Society (HRDS India), an RSS-linked NGO, had named him as one of the recipients of the “Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025.”

Advertisement

Tharoor said he learned from media reports that he had been named a recipient—while he was in Kerala on official duties on Tuesday.

“There in Thiruvananthapuram, responding to media queries, I clarified that I was neither aware of nor had I accepted such an award, and it was irresponsible on the part of the organisers to announce my name without my consent. Despite that, today in Delhi, some media outlets continue to ask the same question. Therefore, I am issuing this statement to clarify the matter unequivocally. In the absence of details about the nature of the award, the organisation presenting it, or any other contextual information, the question of my attending the event or accepting the award does not arise,” he said in a detailed statement on X.

Earlier, party colleague K Muraleedharan also stated that no Congress member, including Tharoor, should accept an award named after Savarkar, who “bowed before the British,” adding that he did not think Tharoor would accept the award in a manner that would “insult and embarrass” the party.

Savarkar’s legacy remains divisive, and Congress leaders often criticise him—a factor that may have influenced Tharoor despite his independent streak. However, Tharoor’s refusal largely centered on procedural issues, such as a lack of prior consent and insufficient clarity, though organisers claimed they had informed him earlier, suggesting that “he might be under pressure from his party.”

Tharoor has been on the wrong side of the Congress leadership with his praises for PM Modi and criticism of dynastic politics—a subject with direct implications for his party’s Nehru-Gandhi family leadership. His statements are also used by the BJP to attack Congress, with some of his party colleagues also labelling him the BJP’s “super spokesperson.”