Engage respectfully with opposing views: Tharoor

Kolkata: The capacity to think critically, to weigh evidence, and to engage respectfully with opposing viewpoints 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, sometimes and occasionally turbulent. It demands from its citizens not only competence but 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 capacity to think critically, to weigh evidence, and to engage respectfully with opposing viewpoints. These are not academic luxuries; they are democratic necessities."
Tharoor was conferred with DLitt, Honoris Causa by the university in recognition of his exemplary contribution to public service and govt. "This was my first honorary doctorate in India, and it resonates all the more with me since I am a Xaverian," said the parliamentarian, who studied at St Xavier's Collegiate School in Kolkata.As many as 1052 PG and UG students and 25 PhD scholars received their degrees at the convocation. Seventeen students were awarded 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 both our campus and courses. We are contemplating introducing an MBA programme in healthcare and hospital management."Tharoor felt that the honour (DLitt, Honoris Causa) conferred upon him was "meaningful" because literature "deepens understanding of the human condition" and does not compete with other fields of knowledge such as science, commerce and law, but complements them."It (literature) reminds us that behind every policy statistic there lies a human life, a lived experience; behind every technological breakthrough, a human aspiration; and behind every institutional debate 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 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," Tharoor said.Rev Dr Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General based in Rome, Italy, was the chief guest.