Why I am a Hindu: an Utterly Disappointing Book

I have finished reading ‘Why I am a Hindu’, by Shashi Tharoor, a Parliamentarian and an author. Frankly speaking, I am highly disappointed with his superficial and skewed understanding of Hinduism. The book is divided into three parts: My Hinduism, Political Hinduism and Taking Back Hinduism. The first part deals with the general concept of Hinduism. One must appreciate his description of certain Indian philosophies in anecdotal style in succinct English. It gives the bird’s eye view of the Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism and also about the reformist movements of the 18th and 19th century.

But in the second part of the book, the writer has become diabolic against Hindus. The book nauseates with the writer’s abhorrence towards Hindu faithful. His acid-tempered description denounces and denigrates Hinduism. The title of this book should have been ‘Why I am a Hindu’ with a big question mark. He says that he is a Hindu but he does not believe in a Hinduism which is assertive or even assimilative. He likes to be the flock of that Hinduism, which suffers in silence, remains docile and is totally enfeebled. He has tried to be an apologist of the Muslim rule in India which spanned for almost 800 years. Mr Tharoor has seen all good qualities in the Muslim rulers with the microscope and has justified even their oppressions, plunders and pillages, cussed insensitivities and even most backward thinking. On the other hand, he has portrayed Hindus to be intolerant, who had to bear the brunt of exploitation and forcible conversions, whose properties were looted, women’s were abducted and raped, and men were maimed.

Very strange that he condemns the Gau Rakshaks but has not found anything wrong with the stone palters or even Christian Missionaries, who have been adopting all frauds and inducements for proselytization of Hindus. If Hindus had been so intolerant, how come the population of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent has grown up from few hundred nearly a thousand years ago to more than fifty crores today? He has all dislikes for any resistance put up by Hindus but turns blind’s eyes towards those who have been part of perpetrating crimes and terror.

The second and third part of the book is against the Hindu revivalism or anything that goes in the name of Hinduism. The book certainly serves his purpose of the mounting attack on the Bhartiya Janta Party, which is ruling over the Centre and most of the states of India. His antipathy and opposition to the BJP and RSS is understandable but why a simple devout Hindu should be beaten with the same club or stick? Hindu has always been eclectic, tolerant and the philosophy and metaphysics of Hinduism are unparallel. The only bane of Hinduism is the caste system, which has otherwise become redundant but is kept alive by the politicians for votes but here Mr Tharoor is silent because it does not fit in his scheme of things. What an irony that he is using Hinduism to condemn Hindus and their religion. The book may serve his political purpose but otherwise, it has cypher value as far as the religion is concerned.