Interact respectfully with opposing points of view: Tharoor | Kolkata News & more related news here

Calcutta: The ability to think critically, weigh evidence, and respectfully address opposing points of view are not academic luxuries. They are democratic necessities because “a society as plural as ours cannot be sustained by uniformity of opinion,” Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram and a Xaverian, told graduating students on Saturday at the convocation of St Xavier’s University at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre.“The India you inherit is vibrant, ambitious and dynamic. It is also complex, contested, divided, at times and occasionally turbulent. It demands of its citizens not only competence but also judgment, not only ambition but balance, not only conviction but civility. In such an environment, the habits cultivated through your education here become invaluable: the ability to think critically, weigh the evidence, and respectfully engage with opposing points of view. These are not academic luxuries; “They are democratic needs.”

Tharoor was awarded the DLitt, Honoris Causa degree by the university in recognition of his exemplary contribution to public service and government. “This was my first honorary doctorate in India, and it resonates with me even more because I am a Xaverian,” said the parliamentarian, who studied at St Xavier’s Collegiate School in Calcutta.As many as 1,052 PG and UG students and 25 PhD scholars received their degrees in the call. Seventeen students received gold medals. Vice Chancellor Father John Felix Raj highlighted the achievements of the university and presented the annual report of the institute. “We are working towards our ‘Vision 2030’ by expanding our campus and courses. We are contemplating the introduction of an MBA program in healthcare and hospital management.“Tharoor considered the honor (DLitt, Honoris Causa) conferred on him to be “significant” because literature “deepens the understanding of the human condition” and does not compete with other fields of knowledge such as science, commerce and law, but rather complements them.“(Literature) reminds us that behind every political statistic there is a human life, a lived experience; behind every technological advance, a human aspiration; and behind every institutional debate there is a discussion about values. It teaches us to see complexity where others may seek simplification and empathy where others may settle for abstraction. In societies as diverse and conflictive as ours, these habits of mind are indispensable. “They strengthen the qualities on which any democracy depends: the ability to listen, question, dissent and, above all, understand complexity,” Tharoor said.The chief guest was Rev. Dr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General based in Rome, Italy.