Tharoor slams government over snub to Nobel Peace winner
What's the story
Senior Congress leader and Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor has slammed the central government for not congratulating this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, Navi Pillay. Pillay, a South African-born jurist of Tamil origin with Indian roots, was awarded the prestigious honor. Tharoor took to social media platform X to express his disappointment over the government's silence on Pillay's achievement.
Advocacy
Pillay's achievements ignored by Indian government
Pillay is a former UN human rights chief who has dedicated her career to defending human rights.
Her work includes advocating for imprisoned anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela and leading a panel that accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
Despite these accomplishments, Tharoor noted that the Indian government has not congratulated her on winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
Video
'Shame on petty men...'
In his post on X, Tharoor shared an AI-generated video detailing Pillay's life and work.
He wrote, "It's been six days since this remarkable woman of Indian origin won the Nobel Peace Prize. And the government of India, her ancestral homeland, hasn't so much as congratulated her? Shame on the petty men who have made such a deplorable decision."
Twitter Post
Tharoor shares AI-generated video detailing Pillay's life, work
It’s been six days since this remarkable woman of Indian origin (see her story, attached) won the #NobelPeacePrize. And the Government of India, her ancestral homeland, hasn’t so much as congratulated her?! Shame on the petty men who have made such a deplorable decision. pic.twitter.com/heM05YbwY4
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 18, 2026
Family celebration
Pillay's family celebrates Nobel win
Pillay's family in Tamil Nadu's Dindigul district celebrated her Nobel win, bringing the global recognition closer to her roots.
Tharoor's post on X also invited criticism from some quarters.
One user asked if the Congress party had congratulated Smit Machchhar, an Indian national who helped prevent an alleged attempt to crash a flight bound for Israel.
Career span
Pillay's career from apartheid to UN
Pillay was born in Durban, South Africa, in 1941 and grew up under apartheid.
She studied law at the University of Natal and earned a doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1988.
Her career took her from defending anti-apartheid activists to becoming the first non-white woman judge on South Africa's High Court in 1995.
She also served at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and was UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.