Shashi Tharoor is not a saint, but he is not the personification of evil either. ‘Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.’ | By Sabin Iqbal
Of late, I use the word ‘parochialism’ a lot in my writing. In the beginning it was employed against the vernacular writers crying foul against the more popular Indo-Anglian writers. But after coming back to Kerala, ending my over-a-decade career as a journalist overseas, I find it hard not to go back to the word repeatedly as I attempt to write on issues that unfold around me.
Few of us have been such a repeated victim of ‘parochialism’ as Shashi Tharoor. Since he was nominated the Congress candidate in Trivandrum for the Lok Sabha elections, he has been subjected to a host of criticisms, allegations and ridicules — all arising from parochialism.
I have seen leaders of Tharoor’s own party exchanging knowing smiles and overheard them making snide remarks as he stood in the middle of swelling crowds of people.
He has been crucified many times, made a butt of ridicule and an easy meat for megalomaniac intellectuals who think of themselves as spotless, clean, crisp keepers of social morality.
I thought I would list down a few ‘sins’ Tharoor has committed since he joined politics.
First major ‘wrongdoing’ allegedly by him was that he was a supporter of Zionists, a mouthpiece of Tel Aviv. Those who attacked him culled out some sentences from one of his articles that appeared in Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
I don’t know how many have read Tharoor’s story on the Haaretz in full. I have, and in my understanding of the English of the story, it was a take on India rather than a praise of Israel.
The sentence which was quoted by many as supportive of Israel is this: “Israel is a small country living in a permanent state of siege, highly security-conscious and surrounded by forces hostile to it…”
Is there any factual error in it?
Isn’t Israel a tiny country surrounded by its enemies? According to my geographical sense, it is. And, doesn’t it live a life in a permanent stage of siege? My political awareness as a journalist who has worked on ‘Middle East pages’ of a Gulf daily for some years tells me it does live a life in a permanent siege. Aren’t the Israelites highly security conscious? They definitely are since any time a suicide bomber can go off in a crowded public place. Now, aren’t they surrounded by forces hostile to them? If not hostile, what is Hamas? Haven’t we heard of the Iranian president’s desire to wipe out Israel from the globe? If that’s not hostility towards a country, then nothing else is!
So factually Tharoor hasn’t committed any sin.
Now check the context. Read the rest of the sentence. “…India is a giant country whose borders are notoriously permeable, an open society known for its lax and easygoing ways.”
Anyone who understands good writing will agree that you compare to highlight the difference. Tharoor has used ‘tiny’ against ‘giant’; ‘permanent state of siege’ against ‘an open society known for its lax and easygoing ways’; and, ‘highly security conscious’ against ‘borders are notoriously permeable’.
For me, it is good writing. Simple yet telling. But unfortunately it hasn’t gone down well with the political and religious intellectuals who, I am afraid, suffer from myopic vision, and are experts in extracting messages that suit their palate.
Read carefully and you will understand that the article was not intended to be about Palestine but was written in response to several suggestions made in India, when Israel commenced its assault on Gaza, that India should do the same in Pakistan in response to the Mumbai attacks. “The purpose of the article was to argue that India is NOT Israel and should NOT do what Israel did. To twist this argument into an anti-Palestine one is grossly unfair,” explains Tharoor.
It could be seen as a pre-poll attempt to paint Tharoor as a friend of Israel and alienate him from the Muslims.
Another one: one writer, who begins his article in a vernacular newspaper by flashing his feather of a Fullbright-sponsored travel to the US, has accused Tharoor of being a Zionist stooge. He also accuses him of ‘acting big and busy’ (at the UN) by not meeting the visiting person of ‘importance’. It seems that if Tharoor had set aside all his official and protocol assignments for a meeting with the writer, he wouldn’t have harboured such an ire against him!
Then, Tharoor made the cardinal sin of placing his hand on his chest while the National Anthem was being recited. What an unpardonable sin in a country where the exchequer is looted to the tune of Rs. 1,75,000 crore…in a country where the Commonwealth Games has proved to be an exercise for ‘private-wealth gains’.
Tweeted Trouble
Then came the ‘cattle class’ tweet. On his Twitter page he was asked: “Tell us minister, next time you travel to Kerala, will it be cattle class?” He answered: “Absolutely, in cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows.”
What we see here is a writer who loves to play with words. ‘Holy cows’ goes well with ‘cattle class’. It was a spontaneous response, with a veneer of humour. It is a pity that our political leaders can’t even understand humour.
He duly apologised. “It’s a silly expression but means no disrespect to economy travellers, only to airlines for herding us in like cattle. Many have misunderstood,” he tweeted. “To those hurt by the belief that my repeating the phrase showed contempt: sorry,” he said.
He also explained the usage of ‘holy cows’ that it was not referring to any individuals. “Holy cows are NOT individuals but sacrosanct issues or principles that no one dares challenge. Wish critics would look it up.”
He surely learnt a lesson from the incident. “I now realise I should not assume people will appreciate humour. You should not give those who would willfully distort your words on an opportunity to do so.”
He soon landed in another soup — this time again for a word he used while talking to media while visiting Saudi Arabia with the prime minister.
This is what he said as a reply to a question: “We feel that Saudi Arabia, of course, has a long and close relationship with Pakistan but that makes Saudi Arabia an even more valuable interlocutor for us.”
The word ‘interlocutor’ created a ruckus. Journalists who, interpreted it as ‘mediator’, drummed it up as India has always opposed any suggestion about a role for a mediator to help sort out the differences with Pakistan. The BJP and CPI picked it up and went after Tharoor, who had to issue this statement later that day: “A section of the media has misread the remarks made by me in Riyadh last evening. What I basically said was that Saudi Arabia is a valuable interlocutor for India. Any other interpretation was neither meant nor warranted.”
The dictionary says “interlocutor” means a person who takes part in a conversation or dialogue. A “mediator” is a person who mediates, especially between parties at variance, one who reconciles differences between disputants.
shashi tharoor yentha
Then the Kochi IPL fiasco unfolded and all hell broke loose. He was asked to put in his papers. He did, and continued to wear the tricolor shawl wherever he went. If he had not resigned his ministerial post, clinging on it by any means, chances are that we would still see Lalit Modi at the helm of the IPL.
His next ‘sin’ was proposing a twin-city deal with Barcelona. It reached nowhere, sunk somewhere in the fathoms of party politics.
And, the latest of all is that Tharoor has become ‘an immoral leader’ who ‘endorses’ alcohol beverage — by becoming a brand ambassador of a liquor company! He has been projected as someone who urges all Indians to hit the bottle. He has become the dirty man of Indian politics. He has loose morals, and is a bad example for the millions of young Indians!
The channels and newspapers that carried the story would have done a more professional job as media if they had looked at the issue with objective eyes. They don’t seem to realise that by publishing reports about a person without valid proof, they are character-assassinating the person — which is against the fundamental values of journalism.
Yentha sought his opinion on the decision to issue legal notice to the media organisations that published the story. He says: “For nearly two years after my entry into public life, I have accepted and tried to ignore multiple falsehoods about me in our media, thinking that this is the price of public life. But I have come to realise, first, that such lies are often widely believed by members of the public, and second, that if I keep turning the other cheek they will continue denigrating me with impunity. This is why I have finally reacted by issuing a legal notice to Deshabhimani and Kairali TV for their latest falsehoods and character assassination.”
He surely knows a thing or two about journalism and communication, and he knows that as a public figure he is not above criticism. Tharoor adds: “The media is entitled to its opinion but facts are facts. They are entitled to criticise me but not to lie about me. To write that the sun rises in the west and then, three days later, publish a piece saying ‘so and so claims the sun rises in the east’ is not good enough. The original falsehood must be withdrawn.”
He is bitten more than once, and is more than twice-shy. “I am not going to let this kind of distortion go unchecked in future.”
Now these are excerpts from what his office has released:
“The ‘decade of achievement’ event hosted this year saw Shabana Azmi being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, Aditya Puri (MD, HDFC Bank) the Achievement Award for Business, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (actor) the People Magazine Award, Boman Irani (actor) the Achiever of the Decade for Entertainment, and Pankaj Advani (billiards player) the Achievement Award for Sports. Dr Tharoor was nominated along with four others since the communications category was devoted this year to authors. Dr Tharoor has neither endorsed any liquor brand nor posed for any advertisement.”
He was photographed holding the Award trophy and this photograph has appeared in an advertisement congratulating the winners. He has neither agreed to be a “brand ambassador” nor posed for an advertisement for any liquor brand or company. Indeed, liquor was not mentioned at any stage in connection with the award and no endorsement of liquor was implied by any of the winners.
It should also be noted that this year’s Teacher’s Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Shabana Azmi, noted actor, social activist and former Rajya Sabha MP. She was also featured in a similar advertisement published to honour her achievement.
Eminent Indians formerly associated with the Teacher’s Awards include Shyam Benegal (filmmaker), Vinod Mehta (journalist), Gulzar (poet & lyricist), Karan Thapar (journalist), Pritish Nandy (journalist), Anupam Kher (actor), Virendra Singh (boxer), Saina Nahwal (badminton champion), Dipika Pallikal (squash player), Abhinav Bhindra (Olympic medallist), Anu Agha (industrialist), Chandra Kochar (ICICI Bank), Raj Kumar Hirani (filmmaker), KV Kamath (chairman, ICICI Bank), Prasoon Joshi (Ad man), Karan Johar (filmmaker), Subir Raha (CMD, ONGC), Anjali Bhagwat (Commonwealth Gold medallist), William Darlymple (author), Yogesh Chandra Deveshwar (chairman, ITC), Jug Suraiya (associate editor, Times of India), Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy (musicians), Rahul Dravid (cricketer), Major Rajwardhan Rathode (Olympic medallist), Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (musician), Naina Lal Kidwai (HSBC Bank), Mahesh Bhupathi (tennis player), Yash Chopra (filmmaker) and Jagjit Singh (singer).
Now, what appeared in a magazine is a surrogate ad. And, Tharoor can, if he wants, sue them. By not doing it doesn’t make him a public figure sans morality and values in life.
Many groups have come out demanding that Tharoor should apologise to the Kerala society for promoting alcohol beverage, which is harmful to health!
What hypocrisy!
How can they ask him to apologise to a society which has just helped the Bevco rake in Rs600 crore in December sales alone, making the month the ‘most intoxicated’ one in the history of the state! This New Year Eve alone witnessed sales of liquor over Rs23 crore!
Can we ask the government to stop selling liquor through Bevco? Let those who want to drink get it from some other means. Can we do that? Remember, Bevco is one of the very few revenue channels for Kerala — others being the millions of people working overseas, the tourism and IT sectors.
If we are ideologically, emotionally and morally so infuriated, then let’s take to the streets demanding the government to stop selling liquor.
Do we have an apolitical will to do it?
And, how many of us can put our hand on the heart and say, “I demand an apology from Tharoor because I don’t drink?”
Shashi Tharoor is not a saint. But he is not the personification of evil either.
Surely, Tharoor is more sinned against than sinning. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Name of source: Yentha.com