Hinduism I grew up with is one that takes everyone along: Shashi Tharoor

The Congress MP was speaking in Bengaluru during the release of the Kannada translation of his book ‘Why I am a Hindu’.

Tharoor also explored the history of the term Hindu, which originally meant all those who lived beyond the river Indus. (File Photo)

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Releasing the Kannada translation of his book ‘Why I am a Hindu’ in Bengaluru, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the kind of Hinduism that he grew up with is one that “blesses everyone and takes everyone along”. Speaking before a gathering at Lavelle Road’s Rotary Club on Friday evening, he underlined that the terms India and Hindu are derived from the same etymology and “if you don’t want to use (the term) India, you can’t use Hindu either.”

Tharoor recalled that he had not originally intended to write a book on Hinduism, having previously written a couple of pages in the context of the aftermath of the Babri Masjid incident in his book ‘India: Midnight to the Millenium’. “The people who came to power in 2014 did so in the name of a political ideology that they anchored in my faith…. And for myself as a Hindu who could not recognise my Hinduism in what they were doing, I thought it became morally imperative to try and explain – perhaps to achieve recognition from others who thought as I did, that a different interpretation of the faith was possible,” he said.

Tharoor also explored the history of the term Hindu, which originally meant all those who lived beyond the river Indus. The term “Hindu” had arisen as the neighbouring Persians did not pronounce the “S” in the name. Tharoor said, “It is very ironic when I hear some people in the ruling party objecting to the use of the word India saying that it is not authentic – India and Hindu are derived from the same etymology. If you don’t want to use India, you can’t use Hindu either.”

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He also pointed out the unique Hindu perspective on creation by pointing out a verse of the Rig Veda which raised doubts about the omniscience of the gods regarding the beginning of creation.

Fielding an audience question on the spread of Hinduism worldwide, Tharoor opined, “What version of Hinduism… If we have the kind of belligerent, entity-anchored Hinduism that we have seen in national politics, I am not sure it would be doing a service to the world. If we have the kind of Hinduism that you, I and many others grew up with…that would be a real blessing because it is a Hinduism that blesses everyone and takes everyone along.”

He also shared his memories of growing up as a Hindu, referring to it as a “lived experience” rather than one rooted in the knowledge of shlokas or Sanskrit, alongside his own prayers in English, Sanskrit and Malayalam, along with being taken to multiple religious sites by his parents.

The translator of the Kannada edition, Professor K E Radhakrishna, was present at the event besides Karnataka state Minister H K Patil and retired Supreme Court Judge Santosh Hegde.

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