'Shashi Tharoor is Too Honourable for Modi's India'
'Shashi Tharoor is Too Honourable for Modi's India'
BJ Sadiq argues that the famous Indian writer, diplomat and politician stands for a nobler kind of politics than that currently on show in India.
Through the length and breadth of India, all talk is of elections. Even the most under-populated hamlets are flushed with noise and gaiety. Shashi Tharoor, now 68, is busy campaigning. He is a prominent figure in India. Rightly so, having thrived after all, in a life gloriously lived, which lends him an air of diplomatic merit.
This Indian MP, former Foreign Minister, bestselling writer, and the man who had almost risen to the seat of the UN Secretary General - was spotted last week in Kerala, his constituency, firmly ensconced in his campaign vehicle that rolled along a leafy avenue at modest speed. The weather seemed tropical; the sky a sagging grey roof, obscuring the sun. Motor cars rattling by stopped to catch a glimpse of their favourite leader. Government employees, students, the proletariat, and even little girls crowded the squares, dancing to the tune of the Oscar-winning song ‘Jai Ho’.
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