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 on X, distancing himself from the award and the ceremony.

In a letter addressed to the Thiruvananthapuram MP, 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 the awards will be presented by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

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.