When the book’s Indian publication was first planned in 2010, officials from Gandhi’s party, the Indian National Congress (popularly known simply as Congress), described it as “defamatory, inaccurate and unsubstantiated” and threatened legal action, while her supporters burned effigies of Moro in Delhi. Gandhi herself was said by aides to have seen a copy of the work and to have been “saddened”. Why I Am A Hindu comes out at a time where the present government's loyalty lies in the cows in the country rather than the human population, where gaurakshaks impart the law unhindered, where the difference between life and death is a moustache, a beard or a burqa, and where self-imposed moral police decides what you should and should not do in your personal life; all in the name of religion, in the name of Hinduism. At a time where citizens are losing faith in Hinduism as a result of all the atrocities being done in its name, Shashi Tharoor through his book reminds us, as well as the bigots in the country as to what exactly Hinduism stands for. In an age of manipulation through fake-images and messages spread through social media, people have been taught to hate the real soldiers of India’s freedom struggle, forgetting that these ‘Hindutva’ proponents made little or no contribution during the struggle for India’s independence. But Shashi Tharoor is no pushover to let them go easily. His book is a timely and sensible argument against the malady that is ‘Hindutva’, a product of fear and paranoia.

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. This guy is so shameless that he wrote 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister' just before 2019 central government election to divert some votes but he failed to do so. Voters have seen the ground reality that BJP government is indeed working for development of India. And i so wished congress stopped doing dynasty politics, they cant even choose congress presidentship outside the family. And as for Shashi Tharoor, why don't you write book on what you did to your wife and what kind of scams your congress party did. Let me take on the Sankrit- Not only the Bjp but also Congress has been vocal on promoting Sanskrit by installing institutions.

Also Watch

One can say that he has done a fine cut and paste job in the first half of the book with his own vague and unclear thoughts peppered with readable prose. The Second Part of the novel under Political Hinduism has a three-point approach- 1. Hinduism is great plural and enigmatic, not puritanical. 2. What Hindutva people do wrong. 3. The Bjp is responsible or gives some examples of what the Bjp had done. It is nothing but a political rant using Hinduism as a shield to conquer the masses of readers. Chanda-Vaz, Urmi (18 February 2018). "Shashi Tharoor's 'Why I Am A Hindu' is a timely reminder of why Hinduism must retain its pluralism". Scroll.in . Retrieved 24 May 2018.

In the first half of the book, he quotes and rephrases the words of Swami Vivekanand and Adi Shankaracharya to present to the audience the true Hinduism, which most of the Hindus believe and live by. This spirit of Hinduism which Mr. Tharoor presents as his own and has been using in many interviews to attract audience towards his book and party and these views are as powerful as the belief in Hinduism of the original writers of these words. It is suggested that while the Vedic era saw only the worship of a formless and imageless God, the conduct of rituals and the propitiation of the river and mountain and tree gods of local tribes, all of which were ‘portable’ and not confined to a fixed spot, it was the arrival of the Greeks under Alexander in the fourth century BCE that brought into India the idea of permanent temples enshrining stone images of heroes and gods.) Again, while the Hinduism of the Vedas emerged from mantras and rituals, including elaborate sacrifices, the Puranas promoted their values entirely on the basis of myths and stories. By developing the concept of the saguna Brahman to go with the exalted idea of the nirguna Brahman, the Puranic faith integrated the Vedic religion into the daily worship of ordinary people. Using the seductive power of maya (illusion), the nirguna Brahman of the Vedas took the form of saguna Brahman or Ishvara, the creator of prakriti, the natural world and the God or Bhagavan of all human beings.”

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). https://m.economictimes.com/news/poli...- nation/rakhigarhi-dna-study-questions-aryan-invasion-theory-claims- author/articleshow/71001985.cms