"It’s great to be back,” said Shashi Tharoor, summing up his sentiment when he visited his alma mater St Stephen’s College on Thursday. The MP was invited by SAHAS, The Women Empowerment Cell of Kirori Mal Collge, in collaboration with the Gandhi Ambedkar Study Circle of St Stephen’s College.

‘When I was in Stephen’s, we didn’t celebrate being second’
While addressing a hall packed with students from St Stephens, as well as other colleges, Tharoor didn’t shy away from reprimanding his juniors for bagging the second position in the NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) 2018, which Miranda House topped. He said, “I have had many memorable moments here – debates, contests, quizzes, and many exciting activities. These days, I have been asked a lot of questions about St Stephen’s making it to the second slot in the NIRF. I tell them, I am thrilled and happy for the college, but I belonged to Stephen’s at a time when we didn’t celebrate being second at anything. All my three years here, we won at everything, all the debates, the quiz contests and the cricket matches too. None of which, from what I gather, we are doing too well of late. So a bit of a progress needs to be made guys. You need to pull up your socks.”

Tharoor’s ‘disputes’ with the college’s administration as a student
When a student asked Tharoor if he had any conflicts with the college’s administration when he was a student, he said, “There were two agitations during my time at the college. One of them was at the beginning of my presidency. In those days, the students’ union didn’t have the word ‘union’. It was called the St Stephen’s Students’ Society and we all felt that it was time to call it a union. So, we amended the constitution to name it the Students’ Union. However, the college principal vetoed. So we got the students mobilised, signed petitions and organised marches. It was finally named The Students’ Union Society.”

‘I am proud to say that I was the only male present at the Miss LSR contest in 1973!’
Talking about the second instance, Tharoor added, “Many of us were concerned about the looming decision to turn the college co-ed. And I will explain the reason. It was not that any of us were anti-women. In fact, I was a frequenter at Miranda House. I am proud to say that I was the only male present at the Miss LSR (Lady Sri Ram College) contest in 1973. It was won by our present Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi. My excuse to enter the event was that I was reporting for a magazine. It was a great experience.”
Getting back to explaining his second face-off with the college’s administration, Tharoor said, “Our argument for the conflict was very simple – we were by far the best male college in the country. Also, at that time, there were already many women’s colleges like LSR, Miranda House, and IP (Indraprastha College). The first objection was that if you admit women, a fewer number of males will be able to benefit from the Stephenian education. The second objection was that if the authorities double the application, our college, which was known for its extracurricular activities, will end up focussing on marks for admissions. And that’s what happened. In any case, I get very happy now when young ladies come to me during our alumni meetings and say, ‘I am a Stephenian,’ with pride.”

‘It was a great opportunity to see Tharoor sir interact with students’

Ikia, a first-year Chemistry (Hons) student who attended the session, said, “We have been excited right from the day we started preparing for today’s programme. Our seniors told us that Shashi Tharoor will be visiting our college at the beginning of our academic year. After many postponements, he finally came today. We are very happy with today’s event.”

Tamya, a first-year BA student, added, “Students often have heated discussions on the college’s autonomy topic. I really liked the way Tharoor sir spoke on the topic. He supports college autonomy,

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/shashi-tharoor-tells-st-stephens-you-need-to-pull-up-