Shashi Tharoor on IIMUN advisory board as RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat set to address Gen Z, Gen Alpha students in Mumbai
Congress MP’s presence on the IIMUN advisory panel comes under the spotlight as Bhagwat prepares to interact with over 2,000 young delegates on August 6
NewsArc Bureau | New Delhi
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s association with the International Movement to Unite Nations (IIMUN) has drawn attention ahead of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s scheduled interaction with Gen Z and Gen Alpha students in Mumbai on August 6.
THE EVENT
Bhagwat, the RSS Sarsanghchalak, is set to engage with more than 2,000 high school students aged 15 to 19, arriving from over 100 cities across India, at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai. The session forms the inaugural ceremony of IIMUN’s Annual Championship Conference, marking the organisation’s 15th anniversary, with the opening theme built around “The Role of Youth in Uniting the World, the Indian Way.”
IIMUN founder Rishabh Shah announced Bhagwat’s participation, calling it the third occasion on which the RSS chief has engaged with an IIMUN gathering. Shah said organisations such as the RSS and the Congress, despite their differing ideologies, merit study by younger generations, and thanked Bhagwat for accepting the invitation. Besides Bhagwat, actor Shabana Azmi, actor Boman Irani and former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud are among those expected at the conference.
THAROOR’S ROLE
Tharoor figures on IIMUN’s advisory board alongside industrialists Ajay Piramal, Deepak Parekh and Nadir Godrej, former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, filmmaker Karan Johar, former service chiefs and Olympian PT Usha. IIMUN says the board draws leaders “from diverse fields” to guide the youth platform, which claims a footprint across 275 cities in India and 40 countries, reaching over 7.5 crore young people through more than 1.5 lakh schools and colleges.
Founded in 2011 by Shah, IIMUN describes itself as a platform to engage young people with public affairs and “the idea of Bharat,” running 108 conferences annually alongside thousands of civic initiatives led by volunteers aged 15 to 24 for students aged 11 to 19.
CONTEXT
Bhagwat’s participation comes at a time when questions have periodically been raised in political circles over prominent Congress figures sharing platforms with RSS leadership. Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, has in the past said his positions on national and international matters are rooted in speaking “for the nation” rather than for any party, while maintaining he remains firmly within the Congress.
NewsArc could not independently verify a direct statement from Tharoor specifically addressing his attendance at the August 6 event; this report will be updated if further comment emerges.
