Why I Am A Hindu

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Even as Orientalists, colonial administrators and intellectuals in Western universities set about translating, codifying and reducing a complex philosophic system to manageable proportions, we witnessed the creation of a homogenised Hinduism. This was upheld by nationalists as the anchor of an Indian identity. Such is the power of intellectual colonialism! Kancha Ilaiah writing for The Caravan, wrote a critical book review in which he questioned the theories put forth by Tharoor for praising Hinduism while being unaware of his own caste. [7] MK Raghavendra of Firstpost wrote that “books such as Shashi Tharoor’s 'Why I am a Hindu' simply take sides in the Left vs Right unproductive struggle, without adding much of intellectual value to the socio-political issues confronting India today.” [4] The second half is nothing but political propaganda aimed at his adversaries and has nothing in relation to the question 'Why Shashi Tharoor is Hindu'. He trains his guns on RSS, Golwalkar, Savarkar, Modi and Deen Dayal Upadhyay. In the process he only convinces the validity of philosophy Deen Dayal Updhayay. His analysis of Golwalkar and Savarkar is biased as does not recongnise that their ideas were in reaction to those of the vile propaganda by Muslim League.

Why I am a Hindu, is a reflection on how Shashi Tharoor (author of the book) has changed from a well-read person, who made the people of India proud by rising to the position of Under Secretary General of United Nations and giving up the position when the USA voted against him in favor of a rubber stamp UN secretary general, to a politician who is turning into a puppet dancing on the tunes of Gandhi dynasty. My disappointment at this book is more as I had big expectations from it. I don't know whether this book can win over any new voters for the author but it'd definitely cause him to lose a lot of readers, who read his books not for the love of his political ideas but for the rational, liberal and intellectual outlook he has and his books exude. In this book Dr Tharoor does not sell Hinduism but calls attention to its egalitarian nature and history. God is in the hearts of the believer ( in Hinduism there are a number of gods - the count varies depending on who you speak to - all the way from 330,000 or 330 million gods …. You choose ). Dr Tharoor opines that Hinduism says “The names do not matter - Krishna/Allah/Jesus - Hinduism allows its believers to choose any mix from this and more but welcomes them all”. This is not a book that speaks about how for political reasons various forces have interpreted the faith to their own advantage. But it is not without its faults. As Dr Tharoor points not only is India the largest democracy but also the greatest hypocrisy.

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But, unfortunately, unlike his other books, Mr. Tharoor finds himself wanting of logical and powerful arguments to persuade the reader, and at times himself appears to be admiring the right-wing philosophy, before jolting himself up to remind that he is associated with the left-wing. There was that One then, and there was no other. In the beginning there was only darkness, veiled in darkness,

Alas, here is where the book lost its charm for me. Granted that Hinduism and Hindutva are like chalk and cheese but the idea behind the book was why one should be a Hindu and not why one should not adhere to Hindutva. Tharoor spends almost 30% of the book describing, decrying and dissecting the political rivals of his own Congress party – the RSS and the BJP. Here too he takes a logical route by going first through the writings of the first leaders of RSS – V. D. Savarkar, M.S. Golwalkar, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. These make for some very interesting studies and viewpoints from Tharoor. So who knows truly whence this great creation sprang? Who knows whence this creation had its origin?Dr Tharoor has risen in my respect significantly and opened my eyes to many things in this book - which I think is more the point. From the Indian Puranas he quotes a small tale which says “The truth exists but it is not always true …”. Shashi Tharoor is a member of the Indian Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala. He previously served as the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information and as the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs. The last section talks about tolerance, Hinduism without fundamentals and how we should embrace the faith for what it is rather what a handful of people would like us to believe.

This challenge of authenticity, however, cuts across a wide intellectual terrain. It emerges from those Hindus who share V.S The next set of chapters are on the stalwarts of Hinduism – Swami Vivekananda, Adi Shankara, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and many others along with short, concise versions of their teachings. It is absolutely riveting to read about Vivekananda and his teachings which hit home with searing effect even in today’s world. From here on, Tharoor moves on to Political Hinduism or Hindutva. Let me take on the Sankrit- Not only the Bjp but also Congress has been vocal on promoting Sanskrit by installing institutions. Scholars in other countries, shuddering under the impact of religious politics, have tried to appeal beyond politics to texts and syncretic practices. The strategy has simply not worked. We might have to counter and dare dominant formulations with alternative forms of politics. That is precisely what the leaders of the Indian National Congress did in the early 20th century. They introduced the language of minority rights in the 1928 Constitutional Draft and secularism after the major Kanpur communal riot in 1931, as a part of constitutional democracy. Shall we think of politics as a radical critique of an inequitable religion as well as religion as politics? No doubt, he is adroit at convincing you in what he feels is right with logical and systemic reasoning, but his constant cribbing against Hindutvavadis/Sanghis/Bhakts creates a monotonic rant. Also, there is this trend I have observed in Tharoor's books, he tends to repeat the same stuff in the same book quite often which sometimes looks like a paucity of ideas rather than reinforcement.

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If I was to give a rating for the first 138 pgs I would give 4 out of five stars. But the book's as deceptive as the author himself, it has Political approach from 139 pgs nearly 300 pgs. The Second part, I found quite fascinating as I was mostly aware of the ideologies of Golwalkar and Hedgewar but not so much of Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s which the BJP swears by especially in small towns. At one point in Orhan Pamuk’s perceptive novel Snow, the protagonist Ka highlights the supreme paradox of religious mobilisation in his part of the world. Defenders of militant Islam draw upon religious vocabularies to justify their politics, without once mentioning God or faith. It is precisely the distinction between politics in the name of religion, and faith, that Shashi Tharoor in this rather charming book on Hinduism and Hindutva seeks to emphasise. This book is all you need if you want to know more about Hinduism. It is full of knowledge, politics, and about ideologies of Hinduism. The book is divided into three parts. Each part has it’s own importance, explaining different aspects. The book begins with the author’s belief in Hinduism, one can reflect so much of their childhood in that part. He delves deep into Hinduism’s most important schools of thought (such as the Advaita Vedanta). The book is segmented into three parts. In the first part, Tharoor offers a brief history of Hinduism, and the development of his own personal faith. In the second part, he traces the rise of modern Hindu nationalism in the form of the Hindutva movement. The third part Tharoor explores the deplorable aspects of Hindutva politics trying to reclaim Hinduism for the liberals. [4] [5]

The Bjp banned the movie Paadmavat even when the story has been fictional. Pg no: 247, '' Taking offense is the name of the game these days; hurting the sentiments of a community is the name of the crime. Please do read what Congress leaders on this matter. https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/boll... Let's take Tharoor as some person who supports the work of a historian who gathered information which was not available in the past and came to a conclusion. Then why not he against Tippu Jayanthi who massacred many Hindus and these were not mere speculations but the letters written by Tippu himself to his commander asking how many were converted and killed. Painting it saffron by Sashi Tharoor, ''The Bombay Prohibition Act was the law that enforced this ban in the year 1949, shortly after the demise of the “Father of the Nation”, Mahatma Gandhi. The fact that it came into force during this period of national sorrow, and is so intricately associated with the Mahatma is the reason why it continues to be such a sensitive issue. The legislation has been in force since 1 May 1960 when Bombay State dissolved into Maharashtra and Gujarat''. Gujrat alcohol poisoning leaving 136 dead is one of the contributors for the complete ban in 2010, then if it was HINDU concern why couldn't he had done it before I mean Modi was already Cm for 5 or more years. And other states ruled by the Bjp did not ban alcohol. Indian National Congress was in rule- The Mizoram Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1995 banned sale and consumption of alcohol effective from 20 February 1997. On 24 August 2014, the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announced, after a long persuasion from KPCC President V M Sudheeran, that state will implement prohibition in a phased manner.[46] The decision was supported by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Kerala Congress.[47] Liquor bars in Kerala had to renew licenses every year; the state government did not license any bar on 31 March 2014, resulting in the closure of 418 bars.

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He exemplified the Hindu idea that religion is an intensely personal matter, that prayer is between you and whatever image of your maker that you choose to worship. In one of the chapter, Mr. Tharoor mentions the criminal Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan of Dera Sacha Sauda, in the same flow as the spiritual gurus like Sai Baba, which is as preposterous as taking the names of national leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. Rajendra Prasad with the likes of Lalu Prasad Yadav and A. Raja.