Congress MP and author Shashi Tharoor has hailed Priyanka Chopra Jonas after meeting her backstage at the India Conference at Harvard 2026, calling her global journey a matter of pride for India.
Tharoor shared photos from the interaction on X, saying he met Priyanka “after more than a decade” moments before her appearance as the closing keynote at the conference. In his post, he wrote that she has “made India proud” by “conquering a stage on which Indians rarely get to appear.”
What happened at Harvard
As per the official agenda, the 23rd India Conference was held on February 14–15, with sessions split across Harvard’s schools. Tharoor delivered a keynote titled “The India We Imagine” on February 14, while Priyanka’s closing keynote was scheduled on February 15 as a conversation with Anjula Acharia.
Priyanka’s reply: “Admiration… and your clap backs”
Priyanka responded publicly to Tharoor’s post, thanking him for attending her session and writing that she has “always had such admiration” for him as an orator—also giving a playful nod to his famous “clap backs.”
Why this moment clicked online
Beyond celebrity buzz, the exchange landed because it framed pop culture as soft power—an Indian star being recognised, in real time, by a senior public intellectual on a global academic platform. The warmth (and wit) made it instantly shareable—classic internet fuel.
—By Manoj H