After his much-hyped book on Hinduism, in which he denounced the aggressive idiom of Hindutva, setting it against the more open religious traditions India is known for, author-politician Shashi Tharoor now has a pitch for the Muslims in India.
In a recent lecture he delivered in Delhi, Tharoor batted for a moderate view of Islam while projecting three examples from the life of Indian Union Muslim League’s (IUML) patron from Kerala, the late Panakkad Syed Mohammedali Shihab Thangal.
In his book Why I Am A Hindu, Tharoor attempts to bring Hinduism’s focus back to its real essence as he sees it -- the one propagated by Adi Sankara, Ramanuja, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and so on -- distinguishing its true philosophical traditions from the political and violent forms manifested by right-wing groups in contemporary India.
In his Shihab Thangal memorial lecture on ‘Redefining Nationalism In Today’s India’ at an event organised in Delhi on Wednesday, Tharoor connected two forms of chauvinisms, of both denominations, and cautioned everyone to be vigilant against both.
He first quoted George Orwell and said nationalism defined by religion in India has caused the “rise of communal violence, mounting authoritarianism and chauvinism” in the last four years.
Citing the incidents of mob lynching, cow vigilantism, and communal violence, Tharoor reiterated his earlier statement that it is safer to be a cow than a Muslim in many parts of India.
After setting out this context, Tharoor came to his central focus: Shihab Thangal.
And it came with a story.Tharoor had just become a Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram. And he received a hand-written letter of congratulation from Shihab Than gal. And, as Tharoor told the story, a few minutes after he received the letter, news came that Thangal had passed away.