St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata confers D.Litt on Shashi Tharoor at seventh convocation

St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata, on Saturday (February 21, 2026) conferred Honoris Causa (D.Litt) on Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram at the University’s seventh convocation.

Mr. Tharoor said that he accepts the Honoris Causa (D. Litt) degree with profound gratitude and abiding humility.

“An honorary doctorate is a gesture of generosity from the University, one that humbles the recipient even as it honours one,” the Congress MP said, adding that it has his first D. Litt from an institute in India, and it was an honour that resonates deeply with him that it has come from his alma mater.

Reflecting on the contribution of Jesuit priests in the field of education, Mr. Tharoor said that St Xavier’s University Kolkata, from the start, upheld the conviction that the true purpose of learning was not professional advancement but the cultivation of ethical judgement and social awareness.

During his address, the MP said that behind every technological breakthrough, there lies a human aspiration and behind every institutional debate there is a discussion about values, “which teaches us to see complexity where others may see simplification, and empathy where others may settle for abstraction”.

“In societies as diverse and argumentative as our own, such habits of mind are indispensable. They strengthen the qualities upon which any democracy depends; the ability to listen, to question, to dissent and above all to understand complexity,” he said.

The Chief Guest at the convocation ceremony was Rev. Dr. Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General based in Rome. While addressing the gathering, Fr. Sosa said, “We live in a world of extraordinary progress. Jesuit education challenges us to respond differently. To balance intellect and empathy, ambition with integrity and success with service, we need to be persons of integrity, socially conscious and compassionate.”

The convocation ceremony saw degrees being awarded to 1052 postgraduate and undergraduate students and 25 PhD scholars. 17 students were awarded gold medals in different subjects for their exemplary performance.

During the ceremony, Rev. Dr John Felix Raj, S.J., Vice-Chancellor of St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata (SXUK), announced the commencement of the B. Tech programme from the 2026 academic session in the 7 th Convocation ceremony of the university today held at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, New Town.

“M.Tech. Courses will be added in due course of time. The university also embarks on an array of courses like, Integrated MBA, Integrated B.Ed., School of Design, School of Nursing and a medical college,” the Vice Chancellor said.

The University authorities added that the institution embarks on an array of courses, including Integrated MBA, Integrated B.Ed., School of Design, School of Nursing and a medical college.

The Executive MBA programme of the University is attracting a good number of students from the corporate sectors, and authorities are mulling to introduce Executive MBA in hybrid mode as well as a new MBA programme in Hospital Management to meet the ever-changing demand of good executives for running the hospital effectively and efficiently.

The St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata Act, 2016 was unanimously passed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in December 2016, establishing it as a private university in New Town, Rajarhat. The campus of the university was inaugurated in New Town, Rajarhat in July , 2017.   

Published – February 22, 2026 05:20 am IST