Shashi Tharoor praises MEA for 'unsung contributions' after Nalanda lit fest visit

COngress MP Shashi Tharoor on tues praised the ministry of extraneous affairs (MEA) for what he called its “unsung contributions” to the rural area, lauding the revival meeting of Nalanda University after attending the Nalanda lit Festival.In a post on X, Tharoor said he was impressed by the new campus and congratulated external affairs minister S Jaishankar and Indian Diplomacy for the effort.Resharing a post from former Sherpa G20, Amitabh Kant, the Congress MP wrote, “I was hugely impressed by the Nalanda University campus while attending the @nalandalitlive. My warm congratulations to @DrSJaishankar and @IndianDiplomacy for this wonderful achievement, which deserves a higher rating among the many unsung contributions of MEA to our nation,” Tharoor wrote.The comments came after Tharoor inaugurated the Nalanda Literature Festival 2025 on Sunday in Rajgir, alongside Bihar governor Arif Mohammad Khan. The Thiruvananthapuram MP also participated in multiple sessions at the festival.Tharoor on oncerns over India’s global university rankingsWhile welcoming Nalanda’s revival, Tharoor struck a more cautionary note on India’s higher education standing. Speaking during an interactive session with Prof Sachin Chaturvedi, he flagged the country’s slipping presence in global university rankings.“India no longer hosts any of the world's leading universities... While a few universities have now entered the top 200, none figure among the top 10 or even the top 50 worldwide,” PTI news agency quoted him as saying.However, Tharoor described the re-establishment of Nalanda as a powerful reminder of India’s civilisational legacy. The ancient Nalanda Mahavihara, whose ruins are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016, dates back from the third century BCE to the 13th century CE, the news agency report added.Calling Nalanda a globally pre-eminent institution of its time, Tharoor said it was “not just because there was no competition, but also because it was an extraordinary institution.” He termed it a matter of “great, great satisfaction” that the university has been revived nearly 800 years after its “third and lasting” destruction by Bakhtyar Khilji around 1200 AD.He noted that Nalanda once drew students from Turkiye and Persia in the west to Thailand in the east and Japan in the north, contrasting it with today’s trend of a declining proportion of foreign students in Indian universities.Congress MP on National Education PolicyOn the National Education Policy, Tharoor said the National Education Policy was framed after wide consultations, though “not in the form of a structured process.” He recalled that some of his suggestions were incorporated when the draft was shared with select MPs, the PTI report added.At the same time, he warned against expecting quick gains in global rankings. “I think we have a long way to go in terms of whether the NEP can help Indian universities become a major force in the world,” he said, adding, “aspirations are important, but we need to walk before we run. There is a need to get the basics right.”