PM's Ramnath Goenka Lecture Served as Both Economic Outlook, Cultural Call to Action: Tharoor Praises Modi Again

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Ramnath Goenka Lecture functioned both as an economic assessment and a cultural call to action, capturing what he described

as the nation’s “restlessness” for development.Tharoor, who attended the lecture on Monday evening at the invitation of The Indian Express, said Modi’s address blended themes of economic ambition with a push for reclaiming India’s heritage and indigenous knowledge systems. The prime minister, he said, called for a 10-year national mission focused on restoring pride in India’s languages, traditions and cultural legacy.“Attended PM Narendra Modi's Ramnath Goenka Lecture at the invitation of @IndianExpress last night. He spoke of India's ‘constructive impatience’ for development and strongly pushed for a post-colonial mindset,” Tharoor wrote on X.“On the whole, the PM's address served as both an economic outlook and a cultural call to action, urging the nation to be restless for progress. Glad to have been in the audience despite battling a bad cold and cough!” he added.According to Tharoor, Modi argued that India is no longer just an emerging market but an “emerging model” for the world, citing the country’s economic resilience. He said the prime minister also addressed frequent criticism that he operates in “election mode,” saying instead that he functions in “emotional mode” to address public challenges.Tharoor noted that a large portion of Modi’s speech focused on overcoming what the prime minister referred to as the lingering influence of Macaulay’s colonial-era approach and its “200-year legacy of slave mentality.”“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!” Tharoor said.His comments follow recent controversy surrounding his praise for veteran BJP leader LK Advani on the latter’s birthday. Tharoor had said that reducing Advani’s decades-long political career to a single episode, “however significant,” was unfair - remarks that drew criticism within his own party. The Congress leadership later said Tharoor’s views were his own and pointed to the party’s democratic ethos.Tharoor has also recently argued that dynastic politics remains a “grave threat” to Indian democracy, asserting that “it is high time India traded dynasty for meritocracy.” The BJP had welcomed those remarks, calling them a “very insightful piece” on how political life in India has increasingly become family-driven.