Minister of State,Ministry of Human Resource Development,Government of India

An elected Member of Parliament, former Minister of State for External Affairs and former Under-Secretary-General to the United Nations, Dr. Shashi Tharoor is the prize-winning author of fourteen books, including the classic The Great Indian Novel (1989), India from Midnight to the Millennium (1997), Nehru: The Invention of India (2003) and most recently Pax Indica: India & the World of the 21st Century (2012).

A widely-published critic, commentator and columnist, Dr. Shashi Tharoor served the United Nations during a 29-year career in refugee work, peace-keeping,communications and public information and earnestly worked in the Secretary-General's office. In 2006, he was India's candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General. He has won India's highest honour for Overseas Indians, the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, and numerous literary awards, including the Commonwealth Writers' Prize.