Shashi Tharoor and his affinity for the unconventional

Amritsar, March 14

A virtual event ‘Unapologetically, Unconventionally Tharoor’ was held here on Monday, wherein bestselling author, MP and senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor voiced the challenges he dealt with in his long career as a diplomat and the dilemmas that he’s been facing as an MP, as mentioned in his latest book ‘Pride, Prejudice and Punditry’, which is a collection of essays he has written over the years.

Commenting on the section in the book that talks about ‘preserving one’s viability’ in the system, he said: “All politicians stay viable by fulfilling the most unreasonable requests that come from their voters.” He further threw light on his unconventional approach and tendency to not play by the set rules as a politician and said: “If having my own rules makes me a misfit in politics, I’m happy being one.” With reference to ‘The Big Giants’ in his recent book, when asked which of the big giants — Nehru, Ambedkar, Tagore, VK Menon and Azad — had the maximum influence on him, he answered: “Nehru had maximum resonance with me; his way of speaking, beliefs, policy as a human being, prowess as a writer and a public figure, fondness for expression and ideas probably give birth to my admiration for him.”

In addition to this, he also expressed his thoughts on the meaning of nationalism and patriotism and their role in shaping the global geopolitical landscape. Manjot Dhillon, chairperson FICCI FLO Amritsar, expressed her delight and gratitude to the unconventional leader and felicitated him with FLO’s Green Certificate.