Tharoor Slams Centre Over Pillay’s Nobel, Faces ‘Hypocrisy’ Jibes
Congress MP questions the absence of a congratulatory message for Nobel laureate Navi Pillay, while social media users turn criticism towards his own party.
- Tharoor questions Centre’s silence on Pillay’s Nobel
- Pillay’s Indian ancestry links her to Tamil Nadu
- Social media users accuse Tharoor of hypocrisy
- Laureate recognised for human rights and international law
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 19th Oct: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has criticised the Centre over what he described as its silence on South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay winning the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, calling the alleged absence of a congratulatory message “deplorable”. His remarks, however, drew criticism on social media, with some users questioning whether his own party had publicly congratulated the laureate.
In a post on X, Tharoor said six days had passed since Pillay received the award, yet the Indian government had not congratulated her despite her Indian ancestry.
“Shame on the petty men who have made such a deplorable decision,” he wrote, without naming any individual.
Pillay’s ancestors left India more than 130 years ago, travelling first to Sri Lanka and later settling in South Africa. Her ancestral roots trace back to Tamil Nadu, where relatives reportedly celebrated the international recognition.
Born in Durban in 1941, Pillay grew up amid poverty and apartheid-era discrimination. Her father was a bus driver, and her family struggled financially. With support from her community, she pursued legal education and eventually established her own law practice in 1967 after facing discrimination from white law firms.
Pillay defended anti-apartheid activists, challenged torture and advocated legal access for prisoners, including Nelson Mandela and other inmates on Robben Island. In 1995, she became the first non-white woman appointed to South Africa’s High Court.
Her career later included service at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. At the Rwanda tribunal, she contributed to the landmark 1998 Akayesu judgment, which recognised that rape and sexual violence could constitute genocide under specified circumstances.
While Tharoor’s post highlighted Pillay’s achievements and the alleged lack of recognition from the Centre, several users on X questioned the Congress MP’s criticism. One user, Priyanka, sarcastically suggested that he deserved a Nobel Prize for “hypocrisy”, while another user, Nalini Rathnam, challenged him over the absence of a statement from his party leadership on a separate issue.
The online exchanges shifted attention from the government’s response to the Nobel award towards questions about consistency in political criticism.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee honoured Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law, recognising a career spanning human rights advocacy, judicial service and international justice.
