'Economic Outlook, Cultural Call To Action': Shashi Tharoor On PM Modi's Ramnath Goenka Address

Last Updated:November 18, 2025, 12:25 IST

Shashi Tharoor said PM Modi's Ramnath Goenka address combined “an economic outlook and a cultural call to action,” highlighting the PM’s push to shed a “post-colonial mindset”.

PM Modi at the event in Delhi (R)/Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (Photos: PTI)

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday reflected on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the sixth Ramnath Goenka Lecture, and shared his impressions in a detailed post on X, noting that the Prime Minister’s speech served as both “an economic outlook and a cultural call to action."

In his post, Tharoor said the Prime Minister spoke of India’s “constructive impatience" for development and pushed strongly for overcoming what he described as a lingering “post-colonial mindset."

According to Tharoor, the Prime Minister emphasised that India must no longer be viewed merely as an “emerging market," but as an “emerging model" for the world, rooted in economic resilience and cultural confidence.

The Congress MP also highlighted the Prime Minister’s response to frequent criticism that he remains in “election mode."

Tharoor said Prime Minister Modi was in an “emotional mode," driven by a commitment to redressing the problems of the people rather than electoral compulsions.

“PM Modi appealed for a 10-year national mission to restore pride in India’s heritage, languages, and knowledge systems. I wish he had also acknowledged how Ramnath Goenka had used English to raise a voice for Indian nationalism!," Thraoor wrote

Despite “battling a bad cold and cough," Tharoor said he was “glad to have been in the audience," describing the evening as an important moment of reflection on India’s economic aspirations and cultural direction.

At the event, the Prime Minister addressed what he described as the 200-year-old imprint of Thomas Macaulay’s educational and cultural influence on India.

The Prime Minister urged citizens to take a collective pledge to “rid the nation from the mindset of slavery" imposed during the colonial period, noting that the year 2035 would mark two centuries since Macaulay’s policies were introduced.

He called for a “10-year national mission" to restore pride in India’s heritage, languages and knowledge systems, arguing that no country can progress unless it honours its civilisational ethos.

The Prime Minister, during his address, stressed that his government was not opposed to English but deeply supportive of Indian languages, citing the National Education Policy’s emphasis on mother tongue–based learning.

He also argued that post-Independence governance models had often been shaped by foreign frameworks, resulting in a diminished pride in Indian systems.

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Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

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