For someone who belongs to a party that apparently takes pride in not being communal or not invoking the religion card, Shashi Tharoor has too many unwanted opinions about Hindus and Hinduism in India. It’s funny that Tharoor – who takes pride in being India’s liberal icon – even has the time to make such statements, what with the multiple chargesheets that have been filed against him vis-a-vis his wife’s suspicious death in early 2014. For those not aware of what I’m talking about, Tharoor recently made the following statement,“No good Hindu would want to build the Ram Temple”.
Tharoor’s statement would have be incredibly funny and ironic, had it not been so hypocritical in the first place. Even if we were to ignore the blatant hypocrisy and selective secularism on display here, something that the Congress party happens to hold a PhD in, there’s something even more offensive about Tharoor’s statements – his blatant disregard for the sentiments of Hindus in our country. Apparently as far as Tharoor and the Congress party are concerned, only people from minority religions can have their religious sentiments hurt, whereas Hindus should always show ‘tolerance’ irrespective of what anyone says or does.
Tharoor’s statements also trivialize the fight for Ram Mandir that so many of us have been at the forefront of for the last few decades. Tharoor knows all-too-well that this is a sensitive issue, and that Hindus in our country have always felt a sense of great injustice, So for him to make such an offensive statement, knowing all too well the reaction he would invoke, is not only tone-deaf, but also deliberately inflammatory and politically motivated.
As it turns out, this isn’t the first time Tharoor has come out with a statement that has ended up offending people. Who can forgave his highly offensive faux pas when he minimized and reduced Manushi Chhillar’s historic win as Miss World to a politically motivated attack on demonetization? And how about the time when he tweeted a picture of Gautam Buddha on Mahavir Jayanti, effectively achieving the rare feat of offending two religions at the same time? And who can forget his infamous “Cattle Class” jibe at Indian common man, which even the Congress party was ashamed of for a change.
Needless to say, Tharoor has a knack for making illogical, offensive and flat-out ignorant statements.
Now since the Congress Party pretty much functions as a dynastic monarchy, I can’t help but wonder if Rahul Gandhi subscribes to Shashi Tharoor’s views on the Ram Mandir? He might not say it out loud like Tharoor – after all, he’s campaigning for assembly elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and RaGa (and the entire Congress party at large) is a master of practicing political opportunism – but, I don’t think there should be any doubt vis-a-vis his position on Ram Mandir. After all, how could he possibly indulge in his minority appeasement politics if he decides to actually take a just stand in favour of Ram Mandir’s creation? And even if RaGa somehow comes out in favour of Ram Mandir’s creation, it’s just going to be another example of his new found love for Hinduism, targeted at winning the upcoming assembly elections.
Effectively, what Shashi Tharoor’s statement comes down to is his assumption that he can actually speak for all Hindus and can apparently determine who would constitute a ‘good Hindu’ and who wouldn’t. But I’d like to ask him a couple of questions in light of his bizarre statement. First, since Tharoor has decided to become the authority on one religion, would he also accord the same treatment to other religions in India? For instance, would he now also become the authority on Islam and Christianity and start sending out guidelines on what and who would make an ideal Muslim or Christian? As it turns out, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the answer to that question.
In closing, I’d just like to state one thing – Shashi Tharoor, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party at large’s selective secularism and political opportunism is already well known, but what has been surprising (even by their standards) is the extent to which they are willing to stoop just to score political points and appease their vote banks. Come the state elections later this year, and the general elections in 2019, I hope all voters remember that. The country will always remember that this statement comes from the same Shashi Tharoor who along with Rahul Gandhi was touring Europe during the Kerala floods ignoring the people of Kerala. He lost the opportunity of been a good Samaritan during the Kerala floods when his constituency needed him the most , instead he chose to do some photo-ops later at his Delhi office to show some concern about flood victims. Perhaps instead of giving sermons on who is a good Hindu , he should try to be a good Samaritan as the bible says.
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