Shashi Tharoor gets France’s highest civilian award

• Shashi Tharoor has received France’s highest civilian award, “Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur”.
• French Senate President Gerard Larcher honoured the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram.
• The accolade was announced in August 2022 but awarded recently on February 20.
• France recognised Tharoor for his efforts to strengthen the bond between India and France, his dedication to global peace and his friendship with France.

ABOUT THE AWARD

• The Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.
• It is France’s highest civilian award that acknowledges extraordinary accomplishments and services rendered to France.
• It covers contributions in arts, literature, science and public service, among others.
• Indian winners
  • Durga Charan Rakshit was the first Indian to receive the honour in 1896.
  • Mohamed Haniff – the Deputy Mayor of Pondicherry in French India – got it in 1937.
  • In independent India, Elattuvalapil Sreedharan “Metroman of India” received the honour in 2005.
  • Other winners-
    • Cedric Prakash, Anjali Gopalan , Shah Rukh Khan , Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Sivaji Ganesan , Kamal Haasan , Soumitra Chatterjee , industrialist Nadir Godrej , fashion designer Manish Arora and Wipro founder Azim Premji.