Talk:Souhardya De

Book

I have removed references to his book after reviewing the cited URLs. This is because they are unclear on whether a publication is imminent. Also, the title of the book was mentioned as being tentative. It made no sense for it to me mentioned on his article. I thought I'd start a topic here just in case this required some discussion -MayureshK

Kentucky Colonel

The claim that De received a Kentucky Colonelcy in 2021 has been added a couple of times, first using only this press release as a source (on the same day the PR had been published). It is the kind of claim that would need independent corroboration: to be nominated for a Kentucky Colonelcy, the nominee has to be at least 18 years old, so this is in fact an extraordinary claim, which would require extraordinary sources. In addition, a philantropic organisation tends to want very rich awardees, and the only function of being a KC is that you can donate money to Kentucky related charities, so a 17-year-old student in another part of the world is an unlikely recipient. Not impossible, but unlikely, and again, very strong independent sources would be needed. The only sources the second time the claim was added are the same press release (almost the same – see below!) and this, which was published today and added to this article a few hours later. As can be seen from the article, it is neither secondary nor independent.

The first time the claim was added, the press release included the line "I can't thank Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and Secretary of State Michael G. Adams much!”, he has penned down. That has now been changed in the PR to expressed his gratifications towards the Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael G Adams for having conferred this civilian honour upon him. That a press release is amended is probably not unusual, but I note that a) there is no mention of this in the PR, and b) it was changed almost immediately after I had mentioned the fact that the original phrasing was a bit insulting towards the governor and secretary of state.

Be that as it may, if independent, secondary, and reliable sources actually do corroborate this, it could be added to the article without extra laudatory fluff. But not until then. --bonadea contributions talk 09:28, 13 July 2021 (UTC)

Weird?

Don't the plaudits, rewards, and praise given to him seem just slightly disproportionate with what he's actually DONE? Sure, writing two books isn't UNimpressive, particularly at such a young age, but they were, it bears noting, SELF-published. It might be observed that- notwithstanding children very often not having any interest in their parents' field of expertise- his father being a professor of history carries some weight in consideration of his circumstances, but that's perhaps by-the-by. His own books aside (no assessments or reviews being cited which might give some better insight into to exactly what extent his having written them constitutes an achievement), being a podcaster isn't particularly evidence of notability, as anyone can start one; the Sunday Guardian for which he apparently writes was founded in 2010, and is hardly a prestigious journal. There are countless other minor columnists out there, none of whom warrant a Wikipedia article. The New Delhi-based Science Olympiad Foundation (far more parochial than the name may imply) source- https://sofworld.org/sof-hall-fame-souhardya-de - is barely intelligibly written, and certainly ill-researched; references to Fellowship of the Royal Asiatic Society as the "highest honour in South Asian Humanities", and the implication that he was awarded it (one applies for or is nominated for the fellowship, equivalent to membership of other similar groups, and its granting is not contingent on achievement, but expression of interest, as the Wikipedia article- and citations from the official site- make unequivocally clear) do not inspire confidence. The KidsRights Foundation of Amsterdam appears similarly small-scale, and again the cited source gives the same- if truncated- poorly-written aggrandising spiel. Having been awarded the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, which appears to be a youth award of some significance, is the main support for his inclusion here, it seems, but many other young people have been awarded this in recognition of early promise which with hard work and good fortune result in high-achieving adulthood careers. This young man does not appear to have done enough of note quite yet. One notes that the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar article links the articles of several recent winners, who- particularly Arshiya Das and Prasiddhi Singh- similarly seem to represent promise rather than actual achievement. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.145.168.245 (talk) 00:54, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

Very much so, considering that the article is not updated and my efforts at updating it were pushed back by a certain editor who didn’t provide proper explanation as to why he/she/they did so. The https://www.nbtindia.gov.in/writereaddata/attachmentNews/saturday-december-25-20212-09-34-pmresults-of-all-india-contest-of-pm-yuva-mentorship-shceme.pdf makes it clear that in late 2021, De was chosen after an all India contest by the Government of India, to author a work commemorating the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (75th anniversary of Indian independence). It might be true that as of present, the article stands notable primarily because of the Bal Puraskar, which, by the way, is a civilian honour and not a minor youth award, but the fact that De is involved presently in a national project of considerable importance under the Ministry, makes it all the more crucial to have it added. For anyone who’s reading this, I have been threatened by said editor a few months back, and have therefore no willingness to update the article or any of its contents in the fear that said edit might appear promotion in some manner or whatever that be. Thank you. Rohan9082 (talk) 03:33, 9 July 2022 (UTC)