Newly crowned Miss World Manushi Chhillar has stated that she is not upset with the tongue-in-cheek comment that Congress leader Shashi Tharoor made on Sunday while taking a jibe at BJP&#39;s demonetisation scheme.&nbsp;

Chhillar took to Twitter to clarify that she wasn&#39;t upset by his tweet.&nbsp;

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Exactly <a href="https://twitter.com/vineetjaintimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vineetjaintimes</a> agree with you on this. A girl who has just won the World isn&rsquo;t going to be upset over a tongue-in-cheek remark. &lsquo;Chillar&rsquo; talk is just small change - let&rsquo;s not forget the &lsquo;chill&rsquo; within Chhillar ?? <a href="https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShashiTharoor</a> <a href="https://t.co/L5gqMf8hfi">https://t.co/L5gqMf8hfi</a>
&mdash; Manushi Chhillar (@ManushiChhillar) <a href="https://twitter.com/ManushiChhillar/status/932522314301784065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/shashi-tharoor-makes-a-bad-pun-on-miss-world-manushi-chhillar-irks-twitterati-24616">Tharoor, on Sunday, drew a lot of criticism</a> over a Tweet that was targetted at BJP but at Chhillar&#39;s expense. Tharoor had tweeted:

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What a mistake to demonetise our currency! BJP should have realised that Indian cash dominates the globe: look, even our Chhillar has become Miss World!
&mdash; Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/932200934972710912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Tharoor had soon clarified that it was a &#39;bad pun&#39; and even praised the young lady&#39;s winning answer.

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Guess the pun IS the lowest form of humour, &amp; the bilingual pun lower still! Apologies to the many who seem to have been righteously offended by a light-hearted tweet today. Certainly no offence was meant to a bright young girl whose answer i&#39;ve separately praised. Please: Chill!
&mdash; Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/932222839532302337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Manushi, a medical student from Haryana, won the title in China, ending 16 years of drought for India at the international beauty pageant.&nbsp;Manushi`s reaction on the issue came on Monday in response to a post by Jain of Times Group, organisers of the Miss India contest.&nbsp;

&quot;I saw Shashi Tharoor`s tweet regarding Manushi Chhillar. I wasn&#39;t offended even though she is a Times girl. We need to learn to be more tolerant towards light-hearted humour.&quot;

Manushi is the sixth Indian to win the Miss World pageant after Priyanka Chopra brought the crown in 2000.

'Let?s not forget the ?chill? within Chhillar,' Manushi tweeted.

Newly crowned Miss World Manushi Chhillar has stated that she is not upset with the tongue-in-cheek comment that Congress leader Shashi Tharoor made on Sunday while taking a jibe at BJP's demonetisation scheme. Chhillar took to Twitter to clarify that she wasn't upset by his tweet. Exactly @vineetjaintimes agree with you on this. A girl who has just won the World isn’t going to be upset over a tongue-in-cheek remark. ‘Chillar’ talk is just small change - let’s not forget the ‘chill’ within Chhillar ?? @ShashiTharoor https://t.co/L5gqMf8hfi — Manushi Chhillar (@ManushiChhillar) November 20, 2017 × Tharoor, on Sunday, drew a lot of criticism over a Tweet that was targetted at BJP but at Chhillar's expense. Tharoor had tweeted: What a mistake to demonetise our currency! BJP should have realised that Indian cash dominates the globe: look, even our Chhillar has become Miss World! — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 19, 2017 × Tharoor had soon clarified that it was a 'bad pun' and even praised the young lady's winning answer. Guess the pun IS the lowest form of humour, & the bilingual pun lower still! Apologies to the many who seem to have been righteously offended by a light-hearted tweet today. Certainly no offence was meant to a bright young girl whose answer i've separately praised. Please: Chill! — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 19, 2017 × Manushi, a medical student from Haryana, won the title in China, ending 16 years of drought for India at the international beauty pageant. Manushi`s reaction on the issue came on Monday in response to a post by Jain of Times Group, organisers of the Miss India contest. "I saw Shashi Tharoor`s tweet regarding Manushi Chhillar. I wasn't offended even though she is a Times girl. We need to learn to be more tolerant towards light-hearted humour." Manushi is the sixth Indian to win the Miss World pageant after Priyanka Chopra brought the crown in 2000.

Miss World Manushi Chhillar gives 'chill' reply to Tharoor pun

UK and India are locked in a bitter battle over the appointment of a judge in&nbsp;the International Court of Justice(ICJ) with India accusing Theresa May&#39;s government of&nbsp; &quot;misusing&quot;&nbsp;UN Security Council membership by pushing for a joint conference mechanism.

India&#39;s Dalveer Bhandari is the&nbsp;front-runner, with nearly two-thirds of members of the UN General Assembly supporting him but the UK is threatening to use its power as the permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to end the process of voting.&nbsp;

The UK government instead plans&nbsp;to implement a mechanism of Joint Conference, comprising three members each from the United Nations General Assembly(GA) and Security&nbsp;Council&nbsp;as a substitute to voting which has never been used earlier over the appointment of judges to the world court.

While speaking to WION Shashi Tharoor explained this complicated&nbsp;ICJ standoff.&nbsp;

&quot;The matter further complicates by the fact Greenwood is an English British and Britain being the permanent member&nbsp;there and obviously have an opportunity to lobby effectively for him with the other members of the security council.&quot;&nbsp;

Watch the entire video here

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Tharoor added that &quot;we need to do an effective job in either persuading the brits to step down or persuading any one or two members of the security council to stop&nbsp;their stubborn support to the British&quot;&nbsp;

One-third of the court&#39;s 15-member bench is elected every three years for a nine-year term, elections for which are held separately but simultaneously in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York.

In all previous incidents, the candidate getting the majority in the General Assembly has eventually been elected a judge of&nbsp;International Court of Justice. Greenwood, who has already served one nine-year term in ICJ, is trailing behind more than 50 votes in the General Assembly. However, he received nine against five for Mr Bhandari in the Security Council.

To win ICJ election, a candidate needs to get the majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council, which has not been the case in the 11 rounds of voting so far.

&nbsp;

Nearly two-thirds of members of the UN General Assembly are supporting India's Dalveer Bhandari

UK and India are locked in a bitter battle over the appointment of a judge in the International Court of Justice(ICJ) with India accusing Theresa May's government of "misusing" UN Security Council membership by pushing for a joint conference mechanism. India's Dalveer Bhandari is the front-runner, with nearly two-thirds of members of the UN General Assembly supporting him but the UK is threatening to use its power as the permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to end the process of voting. The UK government instead plans to implement a mechanism of Joint Conference, comprising three members each from the United Nations General Assembly(GA) and Security Council as a substitute to voting which has never been used earlier over the appointment of judges to the world court. While speaking to WION Shashi Tharoor explained this complicated ICJ standoff. "The matter further complicates by the fact Greenwood is an English British and Britain being the permanent member there and obviously have an opportunity to lobby effectively for him with the other members of the security council." Watch the entire video here × Tharoor added that "we need to do an effective job in either persuading the brits to step down or persuading any one or two members of the security council to stop their stubborn support to the British" One-third of the court's 15-member bench is elected every three years for a nine-year term, elections for which are held separately but simultaneously in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York. In all previous incidents, the candidate getting the majority in the General Assembly has eventually been elected a judge of International Court of Justice. Greenwood, who has already served one nine-year term in ICJ, is trailing behind more than 50 votes in the General Assembly. However, he received nine against five for Mr Bhandari in the Security Council. To win ICJ election, a candidate needs to get the majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council, which has not been the case in the 11 rounds of voting so far.

Britain obviously has an opportunity to lobby for Greenwood with other UN members: Shashi Tharoor to WION

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/it-officials-conduct-search-at-late-cm-jayalalithaas-residence-24487">IT officials conduct search at late CM Jayalalithaa&#39;s residence</a>

Income-Tax officials conducted a search at Veda Nilayam, the residence of late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, at Poes Garden late on Friday. A report says electronic gadgets, including a laptop, desktop and other storage devices were seized.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/delhi-witnesses-overnight-drizzle-may-clear-up-pollution-24486">Overnight drizzle in Delhi may help ease up pollution</a>

Pollution levels decreased further on Friday as Delhi received rainfall in some parts of the city, and is expected to witness more such drizzles on Saturday as well, an official from the MET department told the media.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/robert-mugabe-defiant-amid-mounting-pressure-to-step-down-from-his-party-24484">Robert Mugabe defiant amid mounting pressure to step down from his party</a>

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe appeared publicly Friday for the first time since the military takeover in a defiant gesture but faces pressure to step down from his party ahead of weekend protests.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/strong-earthquake-rattles-tibet-but-no-damage-reported-24485">6.9-magnitude earthquake rattles Tibet</a>

&nbsp;A strong intensity earthquake measuring 6.9 on Richter Scale hit Tibet&#39;s Nyingchi prefecture, located close to Arunachal Pradesh border, in the early hours of today.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/smriti-irani-hits-out-at-tharoor-over-maharaja-comments-24490">Smriti Irani hits out at Tharoor over &#39;maharaja&#39; comments</a>

Union minister Smriti Irani on Friday took a jibe at Congress leader Shashi Tharoor for his reported &#39;maharaja&#39; comments amidst a row over period drama &#39;Padmavati&#39;.

As many as 15 officials led by an Additional Commissioner, swoop down on to Veda Nilayam armed with a search warrant but they were initially prevented from entering the building by police deployed on the road leading to the bungalow.

IT officials conduct search at late CM Jayalalithaa's residence Income-Tax officials conducted a search at Veda Nilayam, the residence of late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, at Poes Garden late on Friday. A report says electronic gadgets, including a laptop, desktop and other storage devices were seized. Overnight drizzle in Delhi may help ease up pollution Pollution levels decreased further on Friday as Delhi received rainfall in some parts of the city, and is expected to witness more such drizzles on Saturday as well, an official from the MET department told the media. Robert Mugabe defiant amid mounting pressure to step down from his party Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe appeared publicly Friday for the first time since the military takeover in a defiant gesture but faces pressure to step down from his party ahead of weekend protests. 6.9-magnitude earthquake rattles Tibet A strong intensity earthquake measuring 6.9 on Richter Scale hit Tibet's Nyingchi prefecture, located close to Arunachal Pradesh border, in the early hours of today. Smriti Irani hits out at Tharoor over 'maharaja' comments Union minister Smriti Irani on Friday took a jibe at Congress leader Shashi Tharoor for his reported 'maharaja' comments amidst a row over period drama 'Padmavati'.

WION Morning News Brief, November 18, 2017

The battle for a seat in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) between India and Britain has run into a stalemate, even as Congress leader Shashi Tharoor accused the &quot;UK of trying to stall the will of the majority of the UN General Assembly&quot;.

Dalveer Bhandari from India and Christopher Greenwood from the UK are seeking re-election at the Hague-based International Court of Justice.

One-third of its 15-member bench are elected every three years for a nine-year term, elections for which are held separately but simultaneously in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York.

Last Thursday, four of the six candidates in the fray were elected as per the UN laws, got absolute majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council.

Ronny Abraham of France, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of Somalia, Antonio Augusto Cancado Trindade of Brazil and Nawaf Salam of Lebanon were elected after four rounds of elections&nbsp;on Thursday.

Yesterday, the UN General Assembly and the Security Council met separately to elect the remaining one candidate for the ICJ.

In each of the five rounds of elections, Greenwood of Britain received nine votes and Bhandari got five in the UN Security Council.

Given that Britain is a Permanent member of the Security Council, Greenwood has an advantage over Bhandari.

Bhandari received an absolute majority in the General Assembly elections in all the five rounds. In fact, he increased his vote tally from&nbsp;Thursday&#39;s&nbsp;115 to 121 votes in <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-to-face-house-judiciary-panel-on-november-14-24132">the General Assembly elections</a> yesterday against the absolute majority number of 97.

The vote tally of Greenwood dropped from 76 to 68&nbsp;on Monday.

With the two countries in a deadlock over the one remaining ICJ seat, both the General Assembly and Security Council announced to adjourn the meeting for the election to be convened at a later date.

Ahead of the yesterday&#39;s voting, Congress leader and former top UN official Tharoor said that the &quot;voice of the General Assembly&quot; has been ignored for too long.

&quot;As the UN Security Council (SC) &amp; General Assembly (GA) vote to choose a judge for the International Court Of Justice (#ICJ) between Indian &amp; UK candidates, the legitimacy &amp; effectiveness of the UN are at stake. The voice of the GA has been ignored too long,&quot; he said in a tweet.

&quot;This time a nominee of a Permanent member of the SC has failed to get an absolute majority of the GA, for the first time in a direct contest to a major @UN organ. GA vote has turned into a protest against an unwarranted extension of privilege for 70+ years. P5 lost by 40votes!&quot; he said.

Tharoor said the election is no longer about the judge or the country he hails from, but about the General Assembly standing up against a member of a privileged club who has lost comprehensively among the Members at large but still leads 9-6 in the Security Council &quot;UK trying to stall the will of the majority of the GA,&quot; he charged.

&quot;Deeply entrenched interests of a tiny select group cannot be allowed to prevail in areas where such privileges are not based in law. Judges to the World Court must represent the majority of the UN membership. The cozy Permanent Members club at the SC cannot keep getting its way,&quot; he charged.

Decisions at the UN, he said, must reflect the voice of? the majority of Members and cannot continue to be decided by a few states with long-held privileges.

&quot;Only that kind of multilateralism will inspire confidence among the international community, especially the younger generation,&quot; he said.

Noting that this is not about India or any single country, he said this is about the idea of justice, of equality and fairness.

&quot;It is about the future we envisage for the United Nations and the conduct of multilateralism. The time for reform is now. I call on SC members to vote for India&#39;s candidate,? he said.

&quot;Aside from these points of principle, India has always shouldered collective responsibilities with our partners in our quest for a more just global order, Our ethos also leads us towards genuine and constructive rule-based multilateralism and peaceful settlement of disputes. Vote4 India!? Tharoor said.

Dalveer Bhandari from India and Christopher Greenwood from the UK are seeking re-election at the Hague-based International Court of Justice

The battle for a seat in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) between India and Britain has run into a stalemate, even as Congress leader Shashi Tharoor accused the "UK of trying to stall the will of the majority of the UN General Assembly". Dalveer Bhandari from India and Christopher Greenwood from the UK are seeking re-election at the Hague-based International Court of Justice. One-third of its 15-member bench are elected every three years for a nine-year term, elections for which are held separately but simultaneously in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York. Last Thursday, four of the six candidates in the fray were elected as per the UN laws, got absolute majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council. Ronny Abraham of France, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of Somalia, Antonio Augusto Cancado Trindade of Brazil and Nawaf Salam of Lebanon were elected after four rounds of elections on Thursday. Yesterday, the UN General Assembly and the Security Council met separately to elect the remaining one candidate for the ICJ. In each of the five rounds of elections, Greenwood of Britain received nine votes and Bhandari got five in the UN Security Council. Given that Britain is a Permanent member of the Security Council, Greenwood has an advantage over Bhandari. Bhandari received an absolute majority in the General Assembly elections in all the five rounds. In fact, he increased his vote tally from Thursday's 115 to 121 votes in the General Assembly elections yesterday against the absolute majority number of 97. The vote tally of Greenwood dropped from 76 to 68 on Monday. With the two countries in a deadlock over the one remaining ICJ seat, both the General Assembly and Security Council announced to adjourn the meeting for the election to be convened at a later date. Ahead of the yesterday's voting, Congress leader and former top UN official Tharoor said that the "voice of the General Assembly" has been ignored for too long. "As the UN Security Council (SC) & General Assembly (GA) vote to choose a judge for the International Court Of Justice (#ICJ) between Indian & UK candidates, the legitimacy & effectiveness of the UN are at stake. The voice of the GA has been ignored too long," he said in a tweet. "This time a nominee of a Permanent member of the SC has failed to get an absolute majority of the GA, for the first time in a direct contest to a major @UN organ. GA vote has turned into a protest against an unwarranted extension of privilege for 70+ years. P5 lost by 40votes!" he said. Tharoor said the election is no longer about the judge or the country he hails from, but about the General Assembly standing up against a member of a privileged club who has lost comprehensively among the Members at large but still leads 9-6 in the Security Council "UK trying to stall the will of the majority of the GA," he charged. "Deeply entrenched interests of a tiny select group cannot be allowed to prevail in areas where such privileges are not based in law. Judges to the World Court must represent the majority of the UN membership. The cozy Permanent Members club at the SC cannot keep getting its way," he charged. Decisions at the UN, he said, must reflect the voice of? the majority of Members and cannot continue to be decided by a few states with long-held privileges. "Only that kind of multilateralism will inspire confidence among the international community, especially the younger generation," he said. Noting that this is not about India or any single country, he said this is about the idea of justice, of equality and fairness. "It is about the future we envisage for the United Nations and the conduct of multilateralism. The time for reform is now. I call on SC members to vote for India's candidate,? he said. "Aside from these points of principle, India has always shouldered collective responsibilities with our partners in our quest for a more just global order, Our ethos also leads us towards genuine and constructive rule-based multilateralism and peaceful settlement of disputes. Vote4 India!? Tharoor said.

UN-ICJ-ELECTION- India, UK battle for ICJ seat run into stalemate

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed BJP leader Subramanian Swamy&#39;s plea seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor&#39;s wife Sunanda Pushkar, terming his PIL as a &quot;textbook example of a political interest litigation&quot;.

A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta said the petition by Swamy cannot be entertained as a PIL.

The bench also said that from what was placed before the court, it was unable to be persuaded that the probe, being carried out by the SIT, is botched up or under the influence of any party.

The court was also of the view that Swamy concealed information, based on which he had made &quot;sweeping allegations&quot; against Tharoor and Delhi Police, as he today offered to file an affidavit disclosing his source or reason based on which he had made the accusation.

&quot;Although Subramanian Swamy claimed he has not concealed any data or information when asked specifically about the basis of his allegations in the petition, his response was to seek time to file affidavit thereby clearly showing that what was to be disclosed at the first instance was not done,&quot; the court said.

The bench also said that &quot;Courts need to be careful that judicial process is not used by political persons for their own purposes&quot;.

&quot;This is not to say that political persons cannot file PILs, but courts have to be extra cautious when allegations are made against other political persons,&quot; the bench added.

The court said the petition by Swamy cannot be entertained as a PIL as it appears to be &quot;a textbook example of political interest litigation being dressed up as a PIL&quot;.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre and the Delhi Police, said that they do not subscribe to the views expressed by Swamy that the Congress leader continues to interfere in the investigation.

Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a suite of a five-star hotel in Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014.

 
&nbsp;

Swamy had asked for a court-monitored SIT probe into the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar, terming his PIL as a "textbook example of a political interest litigation". A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta said the petition by Swamy cannot be entertained as a PIL. The bench also said that from what was placed before the court, it was unable to be persuaded that the probe, being carried out by the SIT, is botched up or under the influence of any party. The court was also of the view that Swamy concealed information, based on which he had made "sweeping allegations" against Tharoor and Delhi Police, as he today offered to file an affidavit disclosing his source or reason based on which he had made the accusation. "Although Subramanian Swamy claimed he has not concealed any data or information when asked specifically about the basis of his allegations in the petition, his response was to seek time to file affidavit thereby clearly showing that what was to be disclosed at the first instance was not done," the court said. The bench also said that "Courts need to be careful that judicial process is not used by political persons for their own purposes". "This is not to say that political persons cannot file PILs, but courts have to be extra cautious when allegations are made against other political persons," the bench added. The court said the petition by Swamy cannot be entertained as a PIL as it appears to be "a textbook example of political interest litigation being dressed up as a PIL". During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre and the Delhi Police, said that they do not subscribe to the views expressed by Swamy that the Congress leader continues to interfere in the investigation. Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a suite of a five-star hotel in Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014.

Sunanda Pushkar death: Delhi HC throws out Subramanian Swamy's PIL, calls it 'political interest litigation'

The Delhi high court on Thursday dismissed Subramanian Swamy&#39;s plea seeking probe into the death of Sunanda Pushkar.

The senior BJP leader filed an application on July 31 in the Delhi High Court seeking within 45 days a copy of the charge sheet to be filed by the city police in connection with the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor&#39;s wife Sunanada Pushkar.

The BJP leader moved the fresh plea in his pending petition seeking a court-monitored CBI-led special investigation (SIT) probe into Pushkar&#39;s death.

Swamy had alleged that &ldquo;inordinate delay&rdquo; in the investigation and sought a court-monitored investigation by setting up of a multi-disciplinary SIT consisting of Intelligence Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, RAW, Delhi Police and headed by the CBI in the case.&nbsp;

Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a five-star hotel in south Delhi here on the night of January 17, 2014. 
&nbsp;

The BJP leader filed an application on July 31 in Delhi HC seeking within 45 days a copy of the charge sheet to be filed by city police in connection with the death of Sunanada Pushkar.

The Delhi high court on Thursday dismissed Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking probe into the death of Sunanda Pushkar. The senior BJP leader filed an application on July 31 in the Delhi High Court seeking within 45 days a copy of the charge sheet to be filed by the city police in connection with the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanada Pushkar. The BJP leader moved the fresh plea in his pending petition seeking a court-monitored CBI-led special investigation (SIT) probe into Pushkar's death. Swamy had alleged that “inordinate delay” in the investigation and sought a court-monitored investigation by setting up of a multi-disciplinary SIT consisting of Intelligence Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, RAW, Delhi Police and headed by the CBI in the case. Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a five-star hotel in south Delhi here on the night of January 17, 2014.

Delhi high court dismisses Subramanian Swamy's plea in Sunanda Pushkar death case

Shashi Tharoor, an Indian lawmaker&nbsp;and former minister of state for external affairs and&nbsp;human resources development, looked at my notepad and pen and asked, &ldquo;Aren&rsquo;t you going to record the interview?&rdquo; Slightly taken aback, I replied with a gentle shake of the head. I still rely on the old school method especially when interviews are scheduled in haste and recording equipment lay in deep slumber in the bottomless pit of my &lsquo;ladies bag&rsquo;. &ldquo;Oh, but you must! I&rsquo;ve been misquoted so many times that I now insist on recordings,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;

My phone, a usually reliable back-up, chooses to misbehave at this juncture. Amused, Tharoor offers to record it on his phone and email the audio file. With this newly-forged rapport, we embark on a freewheeling conversation.&nbsp;

I begin by asking what he sees himself as: a writer, a one-time academic, a diplomat or a politician. He has his answer ready. &ldquo;Why does it have to be just one thing? Why can I not be all of it at the same time? A politician can also be a thinking man, you see!&rdquo; He invites the interviewer to shed her predefined notions.&nbsp;

Of Histories, Personal and National&nbsp;

With 15 books belonging to different genres to his name, Tharoor certainly takes his writing seriously. Glancing at the oeuvre, it is easy to discern his preoccupation with history. He nods in agreement. &ldquo;I was always fascinated by history as a child.&rdquo;

He then begins to chart his journey. &ldquo;In high school, I was that crazy kid who wrote history essays out of sheer pleasure and not because the teacher asked. Because I was so interested in the subject, I read way beyond what was required. I wrote essays on topics that interested me, particularly modern Indian history.&rdquo; He shares with a proud smile, &ldquo;I stumbled upon that notebook recently and found out that they weren&#39;t too bad for a fourteen-year-old in 10th standard.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Tharoor sheds light on the traditional science versus arts battle. He too got a taste of it. &ldquo;When I was to go to college, it came as a surprise to many people. I stood first in West Bengal. I had the highest possible marks in ISC examinations. I opted for History and everyone was horrified including my parents and teachers. St Stephens College was astonished because they had never got an application for History from somebody who had such good marks. They admitted me without an interview.&rdquo; He adds, &ldquo;My interest continued and I topped the university in History. When I graduated, I left the field but never lost&nbsp;interest. Finally, today I found myself writing a book on history, admittedly popular history, which does take into account a lot of contemporary debates and scholarship in the field.&rdquo;&nbsp;

The &#39;Us and Them&#39; of Nationalism

But what explains his preoccupation with national history?&nbsp;

Tharoor says:&nbsp;&ldquo;Nationalism is an inescapable part of our 20th-century history because it was a dominant issue in the first half of the 20th century.&rdquo;

&quot;In terms of contemporary politics, I have argued quite a few times, even publicly, that Congress party should not cede Indian nationalism to the ruling party. We have as much of a claim to speak in the nationalistic spirit. And what is more, we do so in a more expansive and inclusive way and not the other kind.&rdquo;&nbsp;

There is no getting away from the &lsquo;us and them&rsquo; binaries.&nbsp;

&ldquo;What I&#39;ve done in my books speaks for a more inclusive vision of India that my party also stands for. But nationalism has many meanings and connotations in people&#39;s minds. There are people who think of nationalism only in terms of &lsquo;bharat mata ki jai&rsquo; kind of bigotry. The current ruling dispensation seems to be thrusting patriotism down people&#39;s throat where loyalty becomes an act of performance rather than something that is felt in the heart. That&#39;s not my kind of nationalism,&rdquo; he continues.&nbsp;

Is this urge of Tharoor, the writer, to narrativise history linked to Tharoor -- the politician&rsquo;s aim to build a certain brand of nationalism?&nbsp;

Every narrative of a contemporary country has to be steeped in its history. Today when we speak of what India is and celebrate Indian nationhood, we need to have a sense of what we are celebrating. As you may have seen in some of my books, I articulate a vision of Indian nationalism that is anchored in Indian pluralism. I talk about all the forces that have made India and nearly unmade it. I celebrate multiplicity, inclusiveness, and involvement of multiple communities and regions in making the Indian national narrative. Others interpret nationalism more narrowly.&nbsp;

&lsquo;Us and them&rsquo; again but he is gracious enough to allow some space.&nbsp;

&ldquo;This is a contested terrain. Obviously, Mr Savarkar&#39;s view of Indian nationalism is not my view of Indian nationalism. This difference is what goes into the process of making of an Indian identity.&rdquo; He pauses to think. &ldquo;But at the same time, nationalism cannot be impervious to the past. Talking of British nationalism today, brushing colonialism under the carpet is inexcusable. You can&#39;t really celebrate Elizabeth, Francis Drake, Victoria, and Walter Raleigh and&nbsp;overlook the subjugation of hundreds of millions of people around the world whose resources were plundered for British industrial revolution. All nationalism is steeped in history whether people acknowledge it or not.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Tharoor&rsquo;s latest &lsquo;An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India&rsquo; seeks to revive the memory of India&rsquo;s colonial past and the attached horrors.&nbsp;

How, as a historian, does he deal with flashpoints in history? Does he see and react to the ploy of outsourcing the violence by the West?&nbsp;

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very well expressed idea. &lsquo;Outsourcing the violence.&rsquo; As a UN official, I had to deal with the contemporary outsourcing of violence. We can celebrate the fact that the UN prevented the third world war. However, the fact is that wars went on in the periphery while the so-called global centre was celebrating peace. The world, on the whole, has not been at peace,&rdquo; he responds.&nbsp;

What about the flashpoints in Indian history?&nbsp;

Tharoor begins by referring to &lsquo;An Era of Darkness&rsquo;. &ldquo;While I haven&rsquo;t looked at the contemporary Indian history in the latest book which stops at 1947, it does shed light on the roots of communal trouble in the country.&rdquo; Raising his pitch a bit he adds, &ldquo;The divide and rule, divide et impera, was a very conscious colonial policy. Caste system became much more ossified and rigidified thanks to British intervention. I&#39;ve talked about how the classification of entire tribes as criminal tribes, or entire groups as martial races, and so on have had pernicious and lingering effects.&rdquo; He slips in casually, &ldquo;There are some echoes of the Raj in today&#39;s contemporary politics. I&#39;ve alluded to it a bit in the last chapter.&rdquo;&nbsp;

The Opposition Within

Since the historian&rsquo;s politician avatar becomes visible, the next question is about the vulnerabilities of a freely writing and expressing active politician. Tharoor has faced opposition from his own party members for not toeing the line.&nbsp;

&ldquo;I remain a strong critic of the BJP, the ruling party. But I believe that a part of being responsible opposition is giving acknowledgement&nbsp;and at times more than acknowledgement&nbsp;when it&#39;s due. Two such incidents happened in recent past which were only a few months apart. The first one was due to an article in which I asked the question: is there a Narendra Modi 2.0? Without giving a definitive answer, I only said it&#39;s too early to tell. But the headline and a very inadequate paraphrase in the Times of India created a huge uproar.&rdquo;&nbsp;

&ldquo;The second one involved my appointment as a goodwill ambassador of the Swachha Bharat Mission which I saw as a national endeavour that needed to be supported beyond politics. Now, our political atmosphere has reached a point where nothing is beyond politics and as a result, I suffered. But I stand by my&nbsp;ideas,&rdquo; shares Tharoor. He hopes that his &ldquo;intellectual independence and integrity of views&rdquo; will eventually be respected. &ldquo;Hopefully, people will see that though I attack the government as strongly as any other congressman on the majority of issues&nbsp;if there are any issues that I feel the government deserves credit I&#39;m willing to take a different stand,&rdquo; he adds.&nbsp;

Does his status as a politician stand at loggerheads with his writing career?&nbsp;

Tharoor responds to it by talking about responsibility and censorship. &ldquo;I don&#39;t censor myself on those grounds. A part of my responsibility as public figure is to accept the opportunities that a public forum gives me to write and speak. I may not always find myself earning applause from my party but at the very least I&#39;m able to have a point of view. In some cases, if there&#39;s an established party line I&#39;ll shut up after a while. But I&#39;ll continue to share my viewpoint within the party and behind the closed doors. I&#39;ve done it on several occasions.&rdquo;&nbsp;

He shares another instance of backstabbing from some of his own party members. &ldquo;My opposition to the tactical disruption of the parliament was leaked by insiders. I did not go to the press with it. Some others did it to make me look as being disloyal to the party. I wasn&#39;t. Even though I dissented, once the party decided to go ahead with it despite my objection, I worked as an acquiescent member of the party&#39;s presence in the Lok Sabha.&rdquo; It is easy to trace the signs of hurt in his voice.&nbsp;

So what will Dr Shashi Tharoor like to be remembered as, a writer or a politician?&nbsp;

Smile comes back to his face. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a fairly easy question to answer. Writing endures for an individual far more than politics. At the end of the day, a politician may feel that he can do better for the society as a whole than a writer can. But look at me as an individual: I&#39;m already a former minister. One day, I&#39;ll be a former MP. I hope never to be a former writer.&rdquo;&nbsp;

His choice is clear. He may not be a reluctant politician but the writer in him is what keeps him thriving.

(WION)

WION's Nishtha Gautam talks to the erudite Indian lawmaker Shashi Tharoor on history, nationalism, and betrayal

Shashi Tharoor, an Indian lawmaker and former minister of state for external affairs and human resources development, looked at my notepad and pen and asked, “Aren’t you going to record the interview?” Slightly taken aback, I replied with a gentle shake of the head. I still rely on the old school method especially when interviews are scheduled in haste and recording equipment lay in deep slumber in the bottomless pit of my ‘ladies bag’. “Oh, but you must! I’ve been misquoted so many times that I now insist on recordings,” he said. My phone, a usually reliable back-up, chooses to misbehave at this juncture. Amused, Tharoor offers to record it on his phone and email the audio file. With this newly-forged rapport, we embark on a freewheeling conversation. I begin by asking what he sees himself as: a writer, a one-time academic, a diplomat or a politician. He has his answer ready. “Why does it have to be just one thing? Why can I not be all of it at the same time? A politician can also be a thinking man, you see!” He invites the interviewer to shed her predefined notions. Of Histories, Personal and National With 15 books belonging to different genres to his name, Tharoor certainly takes his writing seriously. Glancing at the oeuvre, it is easy to discern his preoccupation with history. He nods in agreement. “I was always fascinated by history as a child.” He then begins to chart his journey. “In high school, I was that crazy kid who wrote history essays out of sheer pleasure and not because the teacher asked. Because I was so interested in the subject, I read way beyond what was required. I wrote essays on topics that interested me, particularly modern Indian history.” He shares with a proud smile, “I stumbled upon that notebook recently and found out that they weren't too bad for a fourteen-year-old in 10th standard.” Tharoor sheds light on the traditional science versus arts battle. He too got a taste of it. “When I was to go to college, it came as a surprise to many people. I stood first in West Bengal. I had the highest possible marks in ISC examinations. I opted for History and everyone was horrified including my parents and teachers. St Stephens College was astonished because they had never got an application for History from somebody who had such good marks. They admitted me without an interview.” He adds, “My interest continued and I topped the university in History. When I graduated, I left the field but never lost interest. Finally, today I found myself writing a book on history, admittedly popular history, which does take into account a lot of contemporary debates and scholarship in the field.” The 'Us and Them' of Nationalism But what explains his preoccupation with national history? Tharoor says: “Nationalism is an inescapable part of our 20th-century history because it was a dominant issue in the first half of the 20th century.” "In terms of contemporary politics, I have argued quite a few times, even publicly, that Congress party should not cede Indian nationalism to the ruling party. We have as much of a claim to speak in the nationalistic spirit. And what is more, we do so in a more expansive and inclusive way and not the other kind.” There is no getting away from the ‘us and them’ binaries. “What I've done in my books speaks for a more inclusive vision of India that my party also stands for. But nationalism has many meanings and connotations in people's minds. There are people who think of nationalism only in terms of ‘bharat mata ki jai’ kind of bigotry. The current ruling dispensation seems to be thrusting patriotism down people's throat where loyalty becomes an act of performance rather than something that is felt in the heart. That's not my kind of nationalism,” he continues. Is this urge of Tharoor, the writer, to narrativise history linked to Tharoor -- the politician’s aim to build a certain brand of nationalism? Every narrative of a contemporary country has to be steeped in its history. Today when we speak of what India is and celebrate Indian nationhood, we need to have a sense of what we are celebrating. As you may have seen in some of my books, I articulate a vision of Indian nationalism that is anchored in Indian pluralism. I talk about all the forces that have made India and nearly unmade it. I celebrate multiplicity, inclusiveness, and involvement of multiple communities and regions in making the Indian national narrative. Others interpret nationalism more narrowly. ‘Us and them’ again but he is gracious enough to allow some space. “This is a contested terrain. Obviously, Mr Savarkar's view of Indian nationalism is not my view of Indian nationalism. This difference is what goes into the process of making of an Indian identity.” He pauses to think. “But at the same time, nationalism cannot be impervious to the past. Talking of British nationalism today, brushing colonialism under the carpet is inexcusable. You can't really celebrate Elizabeth, Francis Drake, Victoria, and Walter Raleigh and overlook the subjugation of hundreds of millions of people around the world whose resources were plundered for British industrial revolution. All nationalism is steeped in history whether people acknowledge it or not.” Tharoor’s latest ‘An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India’ seeks to revive the memory of India’s colonial past and the attached horrors. How, as a historian, does he deal with flashpoints in history? Does he see and react to the ploy of outsourcing the violence by the West? “It’s a very well expressed idea. ‘Outsourcing the violence.’ As a UN official, I had to deal with the contemporary outsourcing of violence. We can celebrate the fact that the UN prevented the third world war. However, the fact is that wars went on in the periphery while the so-called global centre was celebrating peace. The world, on the whole, has not been at peace,” he responds. What about the flashpoints in Indian history? Tharoor begins by referring to ‘An Era of Darkness’. “While I haven’t looked at the contemporary Indian history in the latest book which stops at 1947, it does shed light on the roots of communal trouble in the country.” Raising his pitch a bit he adds, “The divide and rule, divide et impera, was a very conscious colonial policy. Caste system became much more ossified and rigidified thanks to British intervention. I've talked about how the classification of entire tribes as criminal tribes, or entire groups as martial races, and so on have had pernicious and lingering effects.” He slips in casually, “There are some echoes of the Raj in today's contemporary politics. I've alluded to it a bit in the last chapter.” The Opposition Within Since the historian’s politician avatar becomes visible, the next question is about the vulnerabilities of a freely writing and expressing active politician. Tharoor has faced opposition from his own party members for not toeing the line. “I remain a strong critic of the BJP, the ruling party. But I believe that a part of being responsible opposition is giving acknowledgement and at times more than acknowledgement when it's due. Two such incidents happened in recent past which were only a few months apart. The first one was due to an article in which I asked the question: is there a Narendra Modi 2.0? Without giving a definitive answer, I only said it's too early to tell. But the headline and a very inadequate paraphrase in the Times of India created a huge uproar.” “The second one involved my appointment as a goodwill ambassador of the Swachha Bharat Mission which I saw as a national endeavour that needed to be supported beyond politics. Now, our political atmosphere has reached a point where nothing is beyond politics and as a result, I suffered. But I stand by my ideas,” shares Tharoor. He hopes that his “intellectual independence and integrity of views” will eventually be respected. “Hopefully, people will see that though I attack the government as strongly as any other congressman on the majority of issues if there are any issues that I feel the government deserves credit I'm willing to take a different stand,” he adds. Does his status as a politician stand at loggerheads with his writing career? Tharoor responds to it by talking about responsibility and censorship. “I don't censor myself on those grounds. A part of my responsibility as public figure is to accept the opportunities that a public forum gives me to write and speak. I may not always find myself earning applause from my party but at the very least I'm able to have a point of view. In some cases, if there's an established party line I'll shut up after a while. But I'll continue to share my viewpoint within the party and behind the closed doors. I've done it on several occasions.” He shares another instance of backstabbing from some of his own party members. “My opposition to the tactical disruption of the parliament was leaked by insiders. I did not go to the press with it. Some others did it to make me look as being disloyal to the party. I wasn't. Even though I dissented, once the party decided to go ahead with it despite my objection, I worked as an acquiescent member of the party's presence in the Lok Sabha.” It is easy to trace the signs of hurt in his voice. So what will Dr Shashi Tharoor like to be remembered as, a writer or a politician? Smile comes back to his face. “It’s a fairly easy question to answer. Writing endures for an individual far more than politics. At the end of the day, a politician may feel that he can do better for the society as a whole than a writer can. But look at me as an individual: I'm already a former minister. One day, I'll be a former MP. I hope never to be a former writer.” His choice is clear. He may not be a reluctant politician but the writer in him is what keeps him thriving. (WION)

In Conversation with Shashi Tharoor: Congress has as much stake in Indian nationalism as BJP does

It had been an agreeable evening until then. The weather had been balmy, the conversation pleasant (never a guarantee in Delhi), and there had been alcohol.&nbsp;

But that&#39;s what threw a spanner in the works.&nbsp;

For in the mix was a Muslim man married to a Hindu woman.&nbsp;

So obviously somebody asked him: &ldquo;I hope you&#39;re not kattar (fanatical)?&rdquo;&nbsp;

&ldquo;No I&#39;m not,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Look, I drink.&rdquo;&nbsp;

I jumped in. The question is unfair, I said. And the answer is unnecessary. &ldquo;I&#39;ve never heard a Hindu man have to prove his lack of kattar-ness by saying: &#39;Look, I eat beef&#39;.&#39;&rdquo;&nbsp;

But alas, my little intervention &ndash; this was a few years ago &ndash; seems to have had little effect on the state of the nation for a few months ago another Muslim man was forced to declare his &ldquo;same-ness&rdquo; to the rest of us.&nbsp;

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<h5>Mera ek mahina Ramzaan bhi hai, maine kiya toh Ganga snaan bhi hai,&rdquo; Hussain says in his poem</h5>
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By way of a poem.&nbsp;

Hussain Haidry performed &ldquo;Main Hindustani Musalman hoon&rdquo; at Kommune in Mumbai on February 10. (The piece of spoken poetry soon went viral.)&nbsp;

In a sense &ndash; in the midst of gau rakshaks killing Muslim men, the RSS telling us the cow protection programme must continue, a silent prime minister, the Supreme Court telling us to stand before every movie, the ABVP hectoring us on the benefits of nationalism, mobs beating up people of African origin, and a former BJP MP saying Indians are not racist because they live with &ldquo;black&rdquo; south Indians &ndash; Hussain&#39;s musings on India&rsquo;s plurality (and the fact that a Muslim can also be an Indian) were the silver lining on a dark cloud. (The reactions to his poem were largely positive.)&nbsp;

&ldquo;Mera ek mahina Ramzaan bhi hai, maine kiya toh Ganga snaan bhi hai,&rdquo; he says in it.&nbsp;

And yet, a darker undercurrent swirls beneath his words.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Imagine if he had called himself a Muslim Indian, rather than a Hindustani Musalman? How would people have reacted then?&rdquo; asks Professor Deepak Mehta. (Mehta used to teach sociology at Delhi University. One of his research interests is the sociology of Muslim groups in India.)&nbsp;

&ldquo;I was just writing about myself,&rdquo; says Hussain. Adding that he was trying to make sense of his mixed Muslim, Madhya Pradeshi, and Gujarati ancestry &ndash; Hussain is a Gujarati-speaking Bohra Muslim from Indore in MP.&nbsp;

But Mehta attributes some of his poem to the &ldquo;minority syndrome&rdquo;, the need members of the minority communities might feel to act more patriotic than their counterparts from the majority because they are seen (incorrectly) to not be patriotic.&nbsp;

Is that so? Is Hussain frightened to be Muslim in India today?&nbsp;

Hussain says he is not, because he comes from privilege. But from some of the stories that he hears &ndash; of long-time neighbour turning on neighbour &ndash; he thinks that &ldquo;a certain set of people are&rdquo;.&nbsp;

Was he, in his poem, proclaiming his nationalism?&nbsp;

&ldquo;I was not talking about nationalism. I was talking about diversity,&rsquo; says Hussain.&nbsp;

But Mehta says Hussain&rsquo;s poem is a reaction to the chest-thumping nationalism that we are seeing today. &ldquo;Nationalism has to be proved only when there is anxiety about it.&rdquo;&nbsp;

&ldquo;I belong here,&rdquo; says Hussain. &ldquo;I know that. And anybody who might think otherwise, that is their problem. Not mine.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Watch: Hussain Haidry performs &#39;Main Hindustani Musalman hoon&#39;&nbsp;. (Video courtesy: YouTube via Kommune)

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T7n22Pkq9RE" width="560"></iframe>

Hussain&#39;s poem asks:&nbsp;

&ldquo;Main kaisa Musalmaan hoon bhai?&nbsp;

Main Shia hoon ya Sunni hoon?&nbsp;

Main Khoja hoon ya Bohri hoon?&nbsp;

Gaon se hoon ya shehri hoon?&nbsp;

Baaghi hoon ya sufi hoon?&nbsp;

Main kaumi hoon ya dhongi hoon?&nbsp;

Main kaisa Musalmaan hoon bhai?&rdquo;&nbsp;

The questions are finally answered by:&nbsp;

&ldquo;Main Hindustani Musalmaan hoon&nbsp;

Mujhme Gita ka saar bhi hai, ek Urdu ka akhbaar bhi hai

Mera ek mahina Ramzaan bhi hai, maine kiya toh Ganga snaan bhi hai

Apne hi taur se jeeta hoon, daaru-cigarette bhi peeta hoon...&rdquo;&nbsp;

There! There&#39;s the mandatory reference to &ldquo;daaru-cigarette&rdquo;. (Somehow that continues to be proof of the &ldquo;liberal&rdquo; Muslim.)&nbsp;

Mehta says they&#39;re &ndash; the minorities &ndash; are forced to do it. That one section of the population talking about reading the Koran will be seen as a &ldquo;betrayal&rdquo;, while the other is forced to talk about reading the Gita. (Please refer back to poem.)&nbsp;

The alcohol vs beef parallel would work here too.&nbsp; 
&ldquo;We&#39;ve stopped thinking about difference,&rdquo; says Mehta. &ldquo;There is now only one kind of (Hindustani) Muslim, as there is one kind of Hindu.&rdquo;&nbsp;

An earlier piece on Hussain in Scroll alluded to that, asking him what the reception to his piece might have been had he sported a long beard and no mousache.&nbsp;

&ldquo;That&#39;s a thought,&rdquo; answered Hussain.&nbsp;

The sociologist Peter Ronald DeSouza wrote recently in the Indian Express that: &ldquo;It is politics which is producing this perversity, a politics that has begun to transform the social fabric of our country such that the &#39;soft othering&#39; that had hitherto defined relations between religious communities &mdash; &#39;they are like that and we are like this&#39; &mdash; has now become a &#39;hard othering&#39;.&rdquo;&nbsp;

DeSouza&#39;s words will soothe a large section of Indian society for his piece blames our current state of affairs on the politicians, rather than on the people themselves.&nbsp;

But Hussain, who is soft-spoken and self-deprecatory, says he blames the people for falling for the divisions the politicians manufacture amongst them.&nbsp;

&ldquo;If we stop falling for it, then it will not work.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Does any of it make him angry?&nbsp;

&ldquo;Anger is not the solution,&rdquo; he says.&nbsp;

What we need to do right now is to pause, to think. If we just did that, we would be better off. &ldquo;But we don&rsquo;t. Even if you look at two people fighting after an accident on the road, we don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Hussain says he was &ldquo;pleasantly surprised&rdquo; by the reaction to his poem. &ldquo;You could even say ki tukka lag gaya.&rdquo;&nbsp;

That&#39;s the enjoyable thing about talking with Hussain. Without really knowing it, he evokes so many writers &ndash; Hussain used to be a chartered accountant and an MBA from IIM Indore, he is looking today to break into Bollywood as a lyricist and screenwriter &ndash; who have come before him.&nbsp;

There&rsquo;s Pankaj Mishra, who too said he was surprised by the popularity of his first book &ldquo;Butter Chicken in Ludhiana&rdquo;.&nbsp;

There is of course Nehru, who called India a palimpsest. A county with layer upon layer. You can add on another layer, but something from the one before stays visible. And that the country only grows stronger from the addition of different cultures to it.&nbsp;

And there is Shashi Tharoor, who has written of how everybody in this country is a minority.&nbsp;

In the Guardian in 2007, he wrote: &ldquo;A Hindi-speaking Hindu male from Uttar Pradesh may cherish the illusion he represents the &lsquo;majority community&rsquo;. But he does not. As a Hindu, he belongs to the faith adhered to by four-fifths of the population. But a majority of the country does not speak Hindi. And, if he were visiting, say, my home state of Kerala, he may be surprised to realise that a majority there is not even male.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Even his Hinduism is no guarantee of his majorityhood, because caste divisions automatically put him in a minority. (If he is a Brahmin, for instance, 90 per cent&nbsp;of his fellow Indians are not.)&rdquo;&nbsp;

Tharoor went on to say: &ldquo;The whole point of Indian pluralism is you can be many things and one thing: You can be a good Muslim, a good Keralite and a good Indian all at once.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Hussain says much the same thing:&nbsp;

&ldquo;Mandir ki chaukhat meri hai, masjid ke kible mere hain

Gurdware ka darbar mera, Yeshu ke girje mere hain

Sau mein se chauda hoon lekin, chauda ye kam nahin padte hain

Main poore sau mein basta hoon, poore sau mujhme baste hain

Mujhe ek nazar se dekh na tu

Mere ek nahin, sau chehre hain

Sau rang kahe kirdaar mere, sau kalam se likhi kahaani hoon

Main jitna Musalman hoon bhai, main utna Hindustani hoon

Main Hindustani Musalman hoon, main Hindustani Musalman hoon.&rdquo;&nbsp;

(WION)

Had Hussain Haidry done so, it is possible the reaction to his viral poem ?Main Hindustani Musalman hoon? would have been very different

It had been an agreeable evening until then. The weather had been balmy, the conversation pleasant (never a guarantee in Delhi), and there had been alcohol. But that's what threw a spanner in the works. For in the mix was a Muslim man married to a Hindu woman. So obviously somebody asked him: “I hope you're not kattar (fanatical)?” “No I'm not,” he said. “Look, I drink.” I jumped in. The question is unfair, I said. And the answer is unnecessary. “I've never heard a Hindu man have to prove his lack of kattar-ness by saying: 'Look, I eat beef'.'” But alas, my little intervention – this was a few years ago – seems to have had little effect on the state of the nation for a few months ago another Muslim man was forced to declare his “same-ness” to the rest of us. Mera ek mahina Ramzaan bhi hai, maine kiya toh Ganga snaan bhi hai,” Hussain says in his poem × By way of a poem. Hussain Haidry performed “Main Hindustani Musalman hoon” at Kommune in Mumbai on February 10. (The piece of spoken poetry soon went viral.) In a sense – in the midst of gau rakshaks killing Muslim men, the RSS telling us the cow protection programme must continue, a silent prime minister, the Supreme Court telling us to stand before every movie, the ABVP hectoring us on the benefits of nationalism, mobs beating up people of African origin, and a former BJP MP saying Indians are not racist because they live with “black” south Indians – Hussain's musings on India’s plurality (and the fact that a Muslim can also be an Indian) were the silver lining on a dark cloud. (The reactions to his poem were largely positive.) “Mera ek mahina Ramzaan bhi hai, maine kiya toh Ganga snaan bhi hai,” he says in it. And yet, a darker undercurrent swirls beneath his words. “Imagine if he had called himself a Muslim Indian, rather than a Hindustani Musalman? How would people have reacted then?” asks Professor Deepak Mehta. (Mehta used to teach sociology at Delhi University. One of his research interests is the sociology of Muslim groups in India.) “I was just writing about myself,” says Hussain. Adding that he was trying to make sense of his mixed Muslim, Madhya Pradeshi, and Gujarati ancestry – Hussain is a Gujarati-speaking Bohra Muslim from Indore in MP. But Mehta attributes some of his poem to the “minority syndrome”, the need members of the minority communities might feel to act more patriotic than their counterparts from the majority because they are seen (incorrectly) to not be patriotic. Is that so? Is Hussain frightened to be Muslim in India today? Hussain says he is not, because he comes from privilege. But from some of the stories that he hears – of long-time neighbour turning on neighbour – he thinks that “a certain set of people are”. Was he, in his poem, proclaiming his nationalism? “I was not talking about nationalism. I was talking about diversity,’ says Hussain. But Mehta says Hussain’s poem is a reaction to the chest-thumping nationalism that we are seeing today. “Nationalism has to be proved only when there is anxiety about it.” “I belong here,” says Hussain. “I know that. And anybody who might think otherwise, that is their problem. Not mine.” Watch: Hussain Haidry performs 'Main Hindustani Musalman hoon' . (Video courtesy: YouTube via Kommune) Hussain's poem asks: “Main kaisa Musalmaan hoon bhai? Main Shia hoon ya Sunni hoon? Main Khoja hoon ya Bohri hoon? Gaon se hoon ya shehri hoon? Baaghi hoon ya sufi hoon? Main kaumi hoon ya dhongi hoon? Main kaisa Musalmaan hoon bhai?” The questions are finally answered by: “Main Hindustani Musalmaan hoon Mujhme Gita ka saar bhi hai, ek Urdu ka akhbaar bhi hai Mera ek mahina Ramzaan bhi hai, maine kiya toh Ganga snaan bhi hai Apne hi taur se jeeta hoon, daaru-cigarette bhi peeta hoon...” There! There's the mandatory reference to “daaru-cigarette”. (Somehow that continues to be proof of the “liberal” Muslim.) Mehta says they're – the minorities – are forced to do it. That one section of the population talking about reading the Koran will be seen as a “betrayal”, while the other is forced to talk about reading the Gita. (Please refer back to poem.) The alcohol vs beef parallel would work here too. “We've stopped thinking about difference,” says Mehta. “There is now only one kind of (Hindustani) Muslim, as there is one kind of Hindu.” An earlier piece on Hussain in Scroll alluded to that, asking him what the reception to his piece might have been had he sported a long beard and no mousache. “That's a thought,” answered Hussain. The sociologist Peter Ronald DeSouza wrote recently in the Indian Express that: “It is politics which is producing this perversity, a politics that has begun to transform the social fabric of our country such that the 'soft othering' that had hitherto defined relations between religious communities — 'they are like that and we are like this' — has now become a 'hard othering'.” DeSouza's words will soothe a large section of Indian society for his piece blames our current state of affairs on the politicians, rather than on the people themselves. But Hussain, who is soft-spoken and self-deprecatory, says he blames the people for falling for the divisions the politicians manufacture amongst them. “If we stop falling for it, then it will not work.” Does any of it make him angry? “Anger is not the solution,” he says. What we need to do right now is to pause, to think. If we just did that, we would be better off. “But we don’t. Even if you look at two people fighting after an accident on the road, we don’t.” Hussain says he was “pleasantly surprised” by the reaction to his poem. “You could even say ki tukka lag gaya.” That's the enjoyable thing about talking with Hussain. Without really knowing it, he evokes so many writers – Hussain used to be a chartered accountant and an MBA from IIM Indore, he is looking today to break into Bollywood as a lyricist and screenwriter – who have come before him. There’s Pankaj Mishra, who too said he was surprised by the popularity of his first book “Butter Chicken in Ludhiana”. There is of course Nehru, who called India a palimpsest. A county with layer upon layer. You can add on another layer, but something from the one before stays visible. And that the country only grows stronger from the addition of different cultures to it. And there is Shashi Tharoor, who has written of how everybody in this country is a minority. In the Guardian in 2007, he wrote: “A Hindi-speaking Hindu male from Uttar Pradesh may cherish the illusion he represents the ‘majority community’. But he does not. As a Hindu, he belongs to the faith adhered to by four-fifths of the population. But a majority of the country does not speak Hindi. And, if he were visiting, say, my home state of Kerala, he may be surprised to realise that a majority there is not even male. “Even his Hinduism is no guarantee of his majorityhood, because caste divisions automatically put him in a minority. (If he is a Brahmin, for instance, 90 per cent of his fellow Indians are not.)” Tharoor went on to say: “The whole point of Indian pluralism is you can be many things and one thing: You can be a good Muslim, a good Keralite and a good Indian all at once.” Hussain says much the same thing: “Mandir ki chaukhat meri hai, masjid ke kible mere hain Gurdware ka darbar mera, Yeshu ke girje mere hain Sau mein se chauda hoon lekin, chauda ye kam nahin padte hain Main poore sau mein basta hoon, poore sau mujhme baste hain Mujhe ek nazar se dekh na tu Mere ek nahin, sau chehre hain Sau rang kahe kirdaar mere, sau kalam se likhi kahaani hoon Main jitna Musalman hoon bhai, main utna Hindustani hoon Main Hindustani Musalman hoon, main Hindustani Musalman hoon.” (WION)

What if the ?Hindustani Musalman? had called himself a Muslim Indian??

&nbsp;A day after the Mumbai Police filed a First Information Report (FIR) against comedy collective All India Bakchod (AIB) co-founder Tanmay Bhat for posting a meme showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi using the Snapchat dog-face-filter, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O&#39; Brien posted pictures using the same filter.

Tharoor was apparently prodded by the Twitterati to defend the AIB&#39;s freedom of expression, after which the Thiruvananthapuram MP took the controversy to another level.

The Congress leader took to his Twitter to post a picture of his &#39;dog-filter&#39;ed face with the caption: &quot;Attn all trolls: I took the #DogFilter challenge! @AllIndiaBakchod.&quot;

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Attn all trolls: I took the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DogFilter?src=hash">#DogFilter</a> challenge! <a href="https://twitter.com/AllIndiaBakchod">@AllIndiaBakchod</a> <a href="https://t.co/0lmClCS7CF">pic.twitter.com/0lmClCS7CF</a>
&mdash; Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/886236850607669248">July 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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What a good idea . Giving it a thought. Should I ? Should I not ! Hmmm On it
&mdash; Derek O&#39;Brien (@quizderek) <a href="https://twitter.com/quizderek/status/886080309611057153">July 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The Mumbai Police Cyber Cell on Friday filed an FIR against Bhat for &quot;making fun of&quot;&nbsp;nation&#39;s Prime Minister Modi. Tanmay&#39;s tweet had a &#39;dog-filter&#39;ed photo of the Prime Minister with the caption #Wanderlust, adding &quot;Dog filter is lyf.&quot; [sic]

The plethora of fans of the Prime Minister took offence, and in return, the AIB&nbsp;faced their wrath.

One of the Twitterati, Reetesh Maheshwari, tagged the Mumbai Police and said that strict action should be taken against the organisation for such a &quot;disrespectful&quot;&nbsp;joke against the Prime Minister.&nbsp;

The Mumbai Police Cyber Cell on Friday filed an FIR against comedian Tanmay Bhat for 'making fun of' Indian Prime Minister Modi

A day after the Mumbai Police filed a First Information Report (FIR) against comedy collective All India Bakchod (AIB) co-founder Tanmay Bhat for posting a meme showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi using the Snapchat dog-face-filter, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O' Brien posted pictures using the same filter. Tharoor was apparently prodded by the Twitterati to defend the AIB's freedom of expression, after which the Thiruvananthapuram MP took the controversy to another level. The Congress leader took to his Twitter to post a picture of his 'dog-filter'ed face with the caption: "Attn all trolls: I took the #DogFilter challenge! @AllIndiaBakchod." Attn all trolls: I took the #DogFilter challenge! @AllIndiaBakchod pic.twitter.com/0lmClCS7CF — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 15, 2017 × What a good idea . Giving it a thought. Should I ? Should I not ! Hmmm On it — Derek O'Brien (@quizderek) July 15, 2017 × The Mumbai Police Cyber Cell on Friday filed an FIR against Bhat for "making fun of" nation's Prime Minister Modi. Tanmay's tweet had a 'dog-filter'ed photo of the Prime Minister with the caption #Wanderlust, adding "Dog filter is lyf." [sic] The plethora of fans of the Prime Minister took offence, and in return, the AIB faced their wrath. One of the Twitterati, Reetesh Maheshwari, tagged the Mumbai Police and said that strict action should be taken against the organisation for such a "disrespectful" joke against the Prime Minister.

Derek O'Brien, Shashi Tharoor troll trolls with Snapchat filter after AIB controversy

Dr Tharoor called Dhoni&#39;s decision to pass on the reins&nbsp;&quot;admirable&quot;, and praised his style. Dhoni&#39;s surprise retirement as the Indian cricket ODI and T20 captain came just a day before he was to sit down with&nbsp;selectors to pick the team for the forthcoming series against England. The responsibility of leading the team now falls&nbsp;on the able shoulders of Virat Kohli.

&nbsp;

Read the interview here:

JT: MS Dhoni&nbsp;has never lived by the conventional rules of Indian cricket. You would expect India&#39;s greatest captain to go out with fanfare. But not him?

Dr Shashi Tharoor:&nbsp;He has got this abrupt departure style which is somewhat surprising in the case of the Test match resignation. I was actually disappointed. Even a bit angry, because I felt it was almost a betrayal to leave a tour that you&#39;re captaining the side before the final Test of the tour and announce that you&#39;re not playing anymore; that simply to my mind was bad form.&nbsp;But&nbsp;this announcement, on the other hand, was admirable because he was essentially saying,&nbsp;I am not going to leave it too late, one day I have to give&nbsp;up the captaincy. I&#39;ll do it on my own terms and I&#39;ll do it now&nbsp;when&nbsp;Kohli has been leading the squad, so&nbsp;why&nbsp;prevent him from assuming his natural place.&nbsp;That&nbsp;was a rather impressive decision which obviously could have been done in a more, shall we say, more theatrical way with more fanfare but&nbsp;that isn&#39;t Mr Dhoni&#39;s style.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

JT: The question everyone seems to be asking is, was this the right time?&nbsp;There is a series coming up against England and this could prove to be a distraction...

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;I think that the right time&nbsp;for any sportsman is the time inside his head when he decides he should go. We&#39;ve seen a few predictable decisions, we&#39;ve seen some surprising decisions and we&#39;ve seen some delayed decisions.&nbsp;If Mr Dhoni feels that his time was right to give up the captaincy while staying in the same breadth that he remains available as a player and as a wicket keeper, then good for him. I think honestly until very recently his keeping is still unmatched in India and his batsmanship, you know he&#39;s averaging over fifty in ODIs and not too many players can say that.&nbsp;

 
JT: The numbers don&#39;t lie. This was a man who led from the front. The World Cup final against Sri Lanka is a case in point. Yet his captaincy style was unconventional?

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;Dhoni was always a better captain in short formats than the Test match. It&#39;s because in the test matches you often felt that he was switching on to autopilot. In T20s, because he only had 20 overs to play with,&nbsp;I thought he was much more on the ball, and in 50 overs also he did enough interesting things. But you know a time comes after a while he&#39;s been captain for a 199 matches, a time comes after all when somebody says, look, I&#39;ve been there done that, let somebody else have a go. Certainly Virat Kohli is switched on all the time in a way that perhaps a veteran captain doesn&#39;t quite feel the need to be in the same way. It may not be a bad time right now to make that switch.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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<h5>If Mr Dhoni feels that his time was right to give up the captaincy while staying in the same breadth that he remains available as a player and as a wicket keeper, then good for him. I think honestly until very recently his keeping is still unmatched in India and his batsmanship, you know he&#39;s averaging over fifty in ODIs and not too many players can say that.&nbsp;</h5>
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JT: Talking about the unconventional approach, this was a man who turned to Joginder Sharma in the world T20, dropped Ashwin for the world cup final. The list is endless. Perhaps there could be a comparison with Sourav Ganguly but Dhoni was his own man?

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;Dhoni was certainly his own man, some of his choices were pure instinct and there&#39;s no rational explanation for any of them. I think the Joginder Singh example is very interesting because Harbhajan still had an over left&nbsp;but Dhoni just felt that&nbsp;the way Misbah [Pak cricketer]&nbsp;was batting he was&nbsp;he would think the off-spinner into the grounds and he needed the effort to put somebody who can put some more pace in the ball. But that was an instinctive and a surprising bet. If you remember that after that Joginder Singh hardly ever played for India again, it suggests that you&#39;re looking at somebody who in many ways not only defied conventional wisdom but did it in the moment and for the moment. that kind of instinctive captaincy is unusual, it&#39;s also impossible to analyse beyond a particular point and it becomes extremely difficult to replicate. Kohli has his own instincts, he&#39;s made some surprising decisions even during the recent test series against England. Some of his more unexpected bowling changes which went against the advice of the commentators during those matches... were the ones that got wickets and now we&#39;ll look for Mr Kohli&#39;s unexpected changes as captain.&nbsp;

 
JT: What for you has been the defining moment in Dhoni&#39;s tenure as captain. Under him India achieved it all, the World T20 win, the World number&nbsp;one&nbsp;ranking in Tests and the ICC Champions Trophy?

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;Dhoni undoubtedly took Indian cricket to heights that hadn&#39;t been known even during the glory days of Saurav Ganguly. Now Saurav as captain had some remarkable victories, most famously&nbsp;the time he stripped off his T-shirt at Lords when his team came from behind with an unexpected victory. But what Dhoni did in accomplishing titles that no previous captain had done since the World Cup in 1983, the T20 we won the very inaugural one and so on. So there were remarkable accomplishments and there were also losses. When somebody leaves we only remember his triumphs and that&#39;s how it should be. Just as obituaries never speak ill of the dead, departing test captains are rarely pilloried. But Dhoni also had setbacks and defeats, we never won another world T20 title, did we, after 2007, until we came up with some other good victories. But we lost a lot of tournaments much earlier and certainly we&#39;ve had setbacks also under Dhoni. So I don&#39;t want to imply that everything was great, but he has more victories than defeats and he was somebody who very often was responsible for those victories himself.

Some of his extraordinary performances coming in at number&nbsp;5 or 6 in an ODI lineup and hitting the winning runs will often stay etched in the memory and there was a feeling that as long as Dhoni was at the crease, almost any target in the last over was not impossible. Increasingly he&#39;s also had occasions when he&#39;s failed to hit that target but very very often he did it, and I think that is his individual stamp on his captaincy success.&nbsp;

 
JT: Where would you rate him in the pantheon of India&#39;s cricketing captains?

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;I&#39;d say Dhoni was undoubtedly in the very top bracket, partly because you know we&#39;ve had only&nbsp;a handful of captains who&#39;ve got any significant success record, and that too in relatively recent years. Most of our captains right up to the 90s had more failures than successes. Gavaskar had one great success as captain which was the world championship of cricket in Australia, Kapil dev had one great success which was the world cup in 1983. But otherwise all our captains till the 90&#39;s including Tendulkar who ended the 90s as captain had more failures than victories. It&#39;s really a handful of captains all in the 21st century who&#39;ve seen a significant record of success and of that I would say Dhoni stands so far very near the top. Obviously, Kohli has begun with a higher percentage of success than either dhoni or Kumble or Ganguly or obviously any of their predecessors. But right now I&nbsp;would say Dhoni is at the very top if you look back at great Indian captains.&nbsp;

 
JT: He has retired from Tests and now given up the captaincy. The end of MS Dhoni as a cricketer is near. How badly will he be missed?

Dr Tharoor:&nbsp;Every great cricketer is missed for a very short time,&nbsp;then the game moves on. That is inevitable,&nbsp;that&#39;s simply how it is. Sport is a career which offers you a very short lifespan. If you want to be remembered for a long time become a politician, because as a cricketer you will be remembered fondly by people who saw you in your prime, but a younger generation will find new heroes. Many of us may&nbsp;worshiped Tendulkar, people called him god.&nbsp;But there are lots of people today who think of Kohli when they think of a great Indian batsman. Gavaskar&nbsp;seemed to be of a greatness and could never be equaled,&nbsp;then Tendulkar eclipsed him. Maybe Kohli will eclipse Tendulkar and as far as captaincy is concerned somebody will come along to eclipse Dhoni and may be one day Kohli.

Just today as we are speaking of this 17-year-old teenage prodigy, Prithvi Shaw, has hit a century for Mumbai and taken them into the Ranji trophy finals. It gladdens one&#39;s heart when a new star is born like this, a prodigy. But the fact is that somebody&#39;s gonna have to be displaced if one day as a bright young man he burst into the Indian team, it will be at the expense of somebody else who hasn&#39;t done badly. That&#39;s life. Karun Nayyar got his 303, how does Ajinkya Rahane come back in? There&#39;ll always be people of great accomplishment who will not be forgotten, but will have to make way for others. So Dhoni making way is simply the existing normal narrative of any cricketer&#39;s life and story.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Watch this video to hear Dr Tharoor describe the future of Indian cricket.

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After Dhoni&#39;s unpredictable retirement as the Indian Cricket ODI and T20 captain, the responsibility of leading the team now goes on the able shoulders of Virat Kohli. WION&#39;s Jessica Taneja speaks to Congress MP and cricket enthusiast Shashi Tharoor (WION)
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&nbsp;

(WION)

We spoke to the Congress MP and cricket enthusiast about India's most successful cricket captain MS Dhoni

Dr Tharoor called Dhoni's decision to pass on the reins "admirable", and praised his style. Dhoni's surprise retirement as the Indian cricket ODI and T20 captain came just a day before he was to sit down with selectors to pick the team for the forthcoming series against England. The responsibility of leading the team now falls on the able shoulders of Virat Kohli. Read the interview here: JT: MS Dhoni has never lived by the conventional rules of Indian cricket. You would expect India's greatest captain to go out with fanfare. But not him? Dr Shashi Tharoor: He has got this abrupt departure style which is somewhat surprising in the case of the Test match resignation. I was actually disappointed. Even a bit angry, because I felt it was almost a betrayal to leave a tour that you're captaining the side before the final Test of the tour and announce that you're not playing anymore; that simply to my mind was bad form. But this announcement, on the other hand, was admirable because he was essentially saying, I am not going to leave it too late, one day I have to give up the captaincy. I'll do it on my own terms and I'll do it now when Kohli has been leading the squad, so why prevent him from assuming his natural place. That was a rather impressive decision which obviously could have been done in a more, shall we say, more theatrical way with more fanfare but that isn't Mr Dhoni's style. JT: The question everyone seems to be asking is, was this the right time? There is a series coming up against England and this could prove to be a distraction... Dr Tharoor: I think that the right time for any sportsman is the time inside his head when he decides he should go. We've seen a few predictable decisions, we've seen some surprising decisions and we've seen some delayed decisions. If Mr Dhoni feels that his time was right to give up the captaincy while staying in the same breadth that he remains available as a player and as a wicket keeper, then good for him. I think honestly until very recently his keeping is still unmatched in India and his batsmanship, you know he's averaging over fifty in ODIs and not too many players can say that. JT: The numbers don't lie. This was a man who led from the front. The World Cup final against Sri Lanka is a case in point. Yet his captaincy style was unconventional? Dr Tharoor: Dhoni was always a better captain in short formats than the Test match. It's because in the test matches you often felt that he was switching on to autopilot. In T20s, because he only had 20 overs to play with, I thought he was much more on the ball, and in 50 overs also he did enough interesting things. But you know a time comes after a while he's been captain for a 199 matches, a time comes after all when somebody says, look, I've been there done that, let somebody else have a go. Certainly Virat Kohli is switched on all the time in a way that perhaps a veteran captain doesn't quite feel the need to be in the same way. It may not be a bad time right now to make that switch. If Mr Dhoni feels that his time was right to give up the captaincy while staying in the same breadth that he remains available as a player and as a wicket keeper, then good for him. I think honestly until very recently his keeping is still unmatched in India and his batsmanship, you know he's averaging over fifty in ODIs and not too many players can say that. × JT: Talking about the unconventional approach, this was a man who turned to Joginder Sharma in the world T20, dropped Ashwin for the world cup final. The list is endless. Perhaps there could be a comparison with Sourav Ganguly but Dhoni was his own man? Dr Tharoor: Dhoni was certainly his own man, some of his choices were pure instinct and there's no rational explanation for any of them. I think the Joginder Singh example is very interesting because Harbhajan still had an over left but Dhoni just felt that the way Misbah [Pak cricketer] was batting he was he would think the off-spinner into the grounds and he needed the effort to put somebody who can put some more pace in the ball. But that was an instinctive and a surprising bet. If you remember that after that Joginder Singh hardly ever played for India again, it suggests that you're looking at somebody who in many ways not only defied conventional wisdom but did it in the moment and for the moment. that kind of instinctive captaincy is unusual, it's also impossible to analyse beyond a particular point and it becomes extremely difficult to replicate. Kohli has his own instincts, he's made some surprising decisions even during the recent test series against England. Some of his more unexpected bowling changes which went against the advice of the commentators during those matches... were the ones that got wickets and now we'll look for Mr Kohli's unexpected changes as captain. JT: What for you has been the defining moment in Dhoni's tenure as captain. Under him India achieved it all, the World T20 win, the World number one ranking in Tests and the ICC Champions Trophy? Dr Tharoor: Dhoni undoubtedly took Indian cricket to heights that hadn't been known even during the glory days of Saurav Ganguly. Now Saurav as captain had some remarkable victories, most famously the time he stripped off his T-shirt at Lords when his team came from behind with an unexpected victory. But what Dhoni did in accomplishing titles that no previous captain had done since the World Cup in 1983, the T20 we won the very inaugural one and so on. So there were remarkable accomplishments and there were also losses. When somebody leaves we only remember his triumphs and that's how it should be. Just as obituaries never speak ill of the dead, departing test captains are rarely pilloried. But Dhoni also had setbacks and defeats, we never won another world T20 title, did we, after 2007, until we came up with some other good victories. But we lost a lot of tournaments much earlier and certainly we've had setbacks also under Dhoni. So I don't want to imply that everything was great, but he has more victories than defeats and he was somebody who very often was responsible for those victories himself. Some of his extraordinary performances coming in at number 5 or 6 in an ODI lineup and hitting the winning runs will often stay etched in the memory and there was a feeling that as long as Dhoni was at the crease, almost any target in the last over was not impossible. Increasingly he's also had occasions when he's failed to hit that target but very very often he did it, and I think that is his individual stamp on his captaincy success. JT: Where would you rate him in the pantheon of India's cricketing captains? Dr Tharoor: I'd say Dhoni was undoubtedly in the very top bracket, partly because you know we've had only a handful of captains who've got any significant success record, and that too in relatively recent years. Most of our captains right up to the 90s had more failures than successes. Gavaskar had one great success as captain which was the world championship of cricket in Australia, Kapil dev had one great success which was the world cup in 1983. But otherwise all our captains till the 90's including Tendulkar who ended the 90s as captain had more failures than victories. It's really a handful of captains all in the 21st century who've seen a significant record of success and of that I would say Dhoni stands so far very near the top. Obviously, Kohli has begun with a higher percentage of success than either dhoni or Kumble or Ganguly or obviously any of their predecessors. But right now I would say Dhoni is at the very top if you look back at great Indian captains. JT: He has retired from Tests and now given up the captaincy. The end of MS Dhoni as a cricketer is near. How badly will he be missed? Dr Tharoor: Every great cricketer is missed for a very short time, then the game moves on. That is inevitable, that's simply how it is. Sport is a career which offers you a very short lifespan. If you want to be remembered for a long time become a politician, because as a cricketer you will be remembered fondly by people who saw you in your prime, but a younger generation will find new heroes. Many of us may worshiped Tendulkar, people called him god. But there are lots of people today who think of Kohli when they think of a great Indian batsman. Gavaskar seemed to be of a greatness and could never be equaled, then Tendulkar eclipsed him. Maybe Kohli will eclipse Tendulkar and as far as captaincy is concerned somebody will come along to eclipse Dhoni and may be one day Kohli. Just today as we are speaking of this 17-year-old teenage prodigy, Prithvi Shaw, has hit a century for Mumbai and taken them into the Ranji trophy finals. It gladdens one's heart when a new star is born like this, a prodigy. But the fact is that somebody's gonna have to be displaced if one day as a bright young man he burst into the Indian team, it will be at the expense of somebody else who hasn't done badly. That's life. Karun Nayyar got his 303, how does Ajinkya Rahane come back in? There'll always be people of great accomplishment who will not be forgotten, but will have to make way for others. So Dhoni making way is simply the existing normal narrative of any cricketer's life and story. Watch this video to hear Dr Tharoor describe the future of Indian cricket. After Dhoni's unpredictable retirement as the Indian Cricket ODI and T20 captain, the responsibility of leading the team now goes on the able shoulders of Virat Kohli. WION's Jessica Taneja speaks to Congress MP and cricket enthusiast Shashi Tharoor (WION) × (WION)

EXCLUSIVE: Dr Shashi Tharoor speaks to WION's Jessica Taneja

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