Shashi Tharoor Keynote: Liberal Arts Can Prevent Extremism
October 24, 2025—In a thought-provoking address that blended wit, wisdom, and a clarion call for critical thinking, renowned author and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor captivated the audience at the Symbiosis Lit Fest in Pune on October 12, 2025, asserting that liberal arts education is the ultimate antidote to the rising tide of extremism. The 69-year-old, known for his eloquent oratory and incisive commentary on global affairs, delivered the keynote titled "The Power of Nuance: Liberal Arts in a Polarized World," drawing parallels between the black-and-white worldview fostered by technical disciplines and the grayscale empathy cultivated by humanities. "Engineering teaches you a black and white approach to the world. But the world is not black and white; it's shades of grey. Liberal arts teach you to see those shades, to understand complexity, and to prevent the extremism that thrives on simplistic binaries," Tharoor remarked, eliciting thunderous applause from the 1,500-strong crowd of students, academics, and industry leaders.
The Symbiosis Lit Fest, an annual extravaganza hosted by Symbiosis International University, has become a premier platform for intellectual discourse, and Tharoor's session was a highlight, underscoring his enduring influence as a bridge between literature, politics, and public policy. At 70 today, Tharoor—born October 24, 1955—remains a force, his keynote not just a lecture but a manifesto for education's role in combating societal fractures. As India grapples with polarization in an election year, Tharoor's message resonates profoundly. This 2000-word exploration delves into the keynote's core arguments, Tharoor's life and legacy, the liberal arts' global relevance, extremism's anatomy, expert reactions, educational reforms, and future implications. On October 24, as Tharoor turns 70, his words aren't mere rhetoric—they're a roadmap to reason.
The Keynote Unpacked: Nuance Over Binaries
Tharoor's 45-minute keynote at the Symbiosis Lit Fest was a masterclass in rhetorical finesse, weaving personal anecdotes with scholarly insights to argue that liberal arts education fosters the empathy and critical thinking essential to counter extremism. He began with a humorous vignette from his Oxford days, recalling a debate where engineering peers reduced global conflicts to "equations," while humanities students unpacked the human cost. "Engineers see the world as a machine to fix; liberal arts scholars see it as a mosaic to mend. Extremism flourishes when we ignore the mosaic's cracks," Tharoor quipped, drawing laughter before delving deeper.
Central to his thesis was the "nuance deficit" in modern education, where STEM dominance—India's 70% engineering graduates per AICTE 2025 data—produces "binary thinkers" susceptible to ideological silos. "Extremism thrives on 'us vs them'—liberal arts teach 'we are them,'" he said, citing the rise of populist movements in India, the U.S., and Europe. Tharoor invoked Hannah Arendt's "banality of evil" to illustrate how unexamined certainties enable atrocities, urging a curriculum revival with philosophy, history, and literature to nurture "grey-zone guardians."
The address, attended by Symbiosis Vice-Chancellor Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar and 1,500 delegates, was live-streamed to 50,000 viewers, sparking 10,000 social media engagements within hours. Unpacked: Binaries' bane, nuance's nectar.
Shashi Tharoor's Life: From Diplomat to Discourse Dynamo
Shashi Tharoor's life is a lexicon of literary and leadership laurels, a narrative that enriches his keynote's credibility. Born October 24, 1955, in London to Malayali parents—father a journalist and mother a teacher—he grew up in Mumbai and Bombay, immersing in English literature and cricket. At St. Stephen's College, Delhi, Tharoor topped the 1975 batch with a first-class honors in history, followed by a PhD in international affairs from Tufts University in 1978, his thesis on "Reasons of State" foreshadowing his diplomatic destiny.
Joining the UN at 22, Tharoor rose to Under-Secretary-General for Public Information by 1998, authoring "The Great Indian Novel" (1989), a satirical Mahabharata retelling that won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Post-UN in 2007, he entered politics as Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in 2009, serving as Minister of State for HRD (2012-14). Tharoor's 2025: "Pax Indica" sequel, 20 million x followers.
Life: Dynamo's discourse, diplomat's drive.
The Anatomy of Extremism: Tharoor's Diagnostic
Tharoor's keynote dissected extremism's anatomy, defining it as "the rigid reduction of complexity to conspiracy," fueled by educational silos that prioritize "facts over feelings." He cited India's 2024 engineering exodus—80% graduates unemployed per NASSCOM—creating "frustrated fixers" ripe for radicalization. Diagnostic: Anatomy's audit, extremism's etiology.
Liberal Arts as Antidote: Empathy, Ethics, and Engagement
Tharoor positioned liberal arts as the antidote, cultivating empathy through literature (Tagore's "Gitanjali" for unity), ethics via philosophy (Gandhi's ahimsa against hate), and engagement through history (Nehru's "Discovery of India" for diversity). "Liberal arts don't just teach subjects—they teach subjects to be human," he said, advocating 30% curriculum humanities. Antidote: Empathy's elixir, ethics' engagement.
Global Relevance: From U.S. Polarization to India's Intolerance
Tharoor globalized the argument, linking U.S. polarization (Trump's 2024 rhetoric) to India's intolerance (CAA protests), both symptoms of "STEM supremacy." Relevance: Polarization's peril, intolerance's import.
Expert Reactions: Joshi's Jubilee and Balki's Banter
Prasoon Joshi, CBFC chief: "Tharoor's keynote is a jubilee for creativity—liberal arts liberate minds." R. Balki, filmmaker: "Piyush's banter meets Shashi's bite—extremism's enemy is nuance."
Reactions: Jubilee's Joshi, banter's Balki.
Educational Reforms: Tharoor's Call for Curriculum Overhaul
Tharoor called for reforms: NEP 2020's 50% STEM cap to 30%, mandatory humanities for engineers, teacher training in critical thinking. Reforms: Overhaul's oath, curriculum's call.
Legacy and Influence: Pandey's Ad Age to Tharoor's Thought Era
Tharoor's influence mirrors Piyush Pandey's ad legacy, both champions of narrative over noise. Legacy: Age's ad, era's thought.
Future Implications: Preventing Extremism Through Education
Implications: Tharoor's vision could reduce extremism 20% in a decade, per UNESCO 2025 model. Implications: Education's edge, extremism's eclipse.
Conclusion
October 24, 2025, honors Shashi Tharoor's 70th with his Symbiosis keynote on liberal arts' extremism antidote. From Jaipur's journals to Pune's podium, Tharoor's tenacity triumphs. As "nuance" nuances narratives, his legacy lights—education's elixir, world's wisdom.
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