RSS-linked NGO HRDS names Shashi Tharoor recipient of Savarkar award; MP declines

The Highrange Rural Development Society (HRDS India), an RSS-linked NGO, has named Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as one of the six recipients of the Veer Savarkar International Impact Award 2025 in New Delhi.

However, responding to news of his selection, Shashi Tharoor clarified that he would not be part of the event. “I am not getting anything. I just heard about it yesterday and I am not going,” the Congress leader said, distancing himself from the award and the ceremony.

The leader later posted a clarification on the matter on X:
"I have come to know from media reports that I have been named a recipient of the "Veer Savarkar Award," which is to be presented today in Delhi. I only learned about this announcement yesterday in Kerala, where I had gone to vote in the local self-government elections.

"There in Thiruvananthapuram, responding to media queries, I had clarified that I was neither aware of, nor had accepted, such an award and it was irresponsible on the part of the organisers to announce my name without my having agreed to receive it. 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 clarifications about the nature of the award, the organization presenting it or any other contextual details, the question of my attending the event today or accepting the award does not arise," the Thiruvananthapuram MP posted.

Earlier in the day, Congress leader K Muraleedharan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that no party member, including Tharoor, should accept any award in the name of Veer Savarkar "as he had bowed before the British." Muraleedharan said that he does not believe that Tharoor will accept the award as doing so would insult and embarrass the Congress party. Meanwhile, Kerala Law Minister P Rajeev said it was Tharoor's decision whether to accept the award or not.

In a letter allegedly addressed to Tharoor, HRDS India said the award recognises individuals and institutions whose work reflects the ideals associated with Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, including “nationalism, self-reliance, moral courage, and social transformation.” The NGO described the award as a tribute to Savarkar’s life, especially his sacrifices during imprisonment at the Cellular Jail and his contributions to India’s freedom struggle.

Each awardee is to receive ₹1,00,000, along with a certificate and memento. The ceremony is scheduled for December 10 at the NDMC Convention Hall in New Delhi, where Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will present the awards.

The invitation highlighted Tharoor’s long career in public life, including his nearly three decades at the United Nations, where he rose to the rank of Under-Secretary-General and later contested for the role of Secretary-General in 2006. It also praised his parliamentary work and his contributions as an author and thought leader.

The HRDS, which works among rural and tribal communities according to its website, has been in the news earlier for employing the key accused in the gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh, and later terminating her.