Shashi Tharoor welcomes PM Modi’s call for post-colonial mindset, cultural confidence

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for outlining India’s economic direction and urging the nation to reclaim pride in its heritage, following the PM’s recent address.

PM Modi, during his speech at the Sixth Ramnath Goenka Lecture on Monday, had said, “After winning the Bihar elections, some Modi-lovers in the media have started saying that Modi and the BJP remain in election mode 24×7… They do not know we have to remain in emotional mode, not election mode.”

He also spoke extensively about British historian Thomas Babington Macaulay’s influence on India’s education system through the 1835 ‘Minute on Indian Education’, which promoted English as the primary medium of instruction.

The Prime Minister questioned why India should undermine its own languages, saying, “Which country criticises its own languages? Japan, China, Korea adopted many global ideas but never compromised on language. This is why our National Education Policy emphasises learning in local languages. We do not oppose English — we support Indian languages. Macaulay’s crime in 1835 will complete 200 years in 2035, ten years from now. So today, through this platform, I urge the nation: Let the next 10 years be our resolve to free ourselves from this colonial mindset.”

Responding to the Prime Minister’s remarks, Tharoor took to X and said, “He spoke of India’s ‘constructive impatience’ for development and strongly pushed for a post-colonial mindset. The PM emphasised that India is no longer just an ’emerging market’ but an ’emerging model’ for the world, noting its economic resilience.”

Tharoor also highlighted PM Modi’s comment on governance attitude, writing, “PM Modi said he’d been accused of being in ‘election mode’ all the time, but he was really in ’emotional mode’ to redress the problems of the people.”

Tharoor appreciated the Prime Minister’s focus on reversing what he described as Macaulay’s “200-year legacy of ‘slave mentality’,” adding, “A significant part of the speech was dedicated to overturning Macaulay’s legacy. 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!”

He concluded by describing the Prime Minister’s address as both an “economic outlook and a cultural call to action”, saying he was “glad to have been in the audience despite battling a bad cold and cough.”

IANS