Close X
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
ADVT 
India

‘Interesting’ Rahul Gandhi Extraordinarily Well-Read, Says Shashi Tharoor

IANS, 31 Jan, 2018 11:37 AM
    Congress leader Shashi Tharoor today said party president Rahul Gandhi is an "interesting" person with a tremendous intellectual curiosity, but the country "sadly" has not seen enough of him.
     
    He was replying to questions from students of the Delhi University's Hindu College at the 'Mushaira Literature Festival' after delivering a lecture in a jam-packed auditorium.
     
    Asked about his opinion about the new party chief, Mr Tharoor said, "Gandhi has grown up with ideas, perspectives, anxieties, and a degree of knowledge and vocabulary base that many of the youths will find congenial." 
     
    Mr Gandhi has "thought very deeply about religion and matters of faith. He is a Shiv bhakt and seriously practices Buddhist Vipassana and can talk about differences between various schools of it and Hindu philosophy", he said.
     
    Citing an anecdote, Mr Tharoor said when all the political chatter was happening at the time of his elevation as the party's vice president in Jaipur in January 2013, "Gandhi was seen explaining a new book released by inventor of 'black swan theory' Nassim Nicholas Taleb".
     
    Mr Tharoor said Mr Gandhi "is an extremely interesting guy with a tremendous intellectual curiosity and is extraordinarily well-read. I say this because for a couple of years between my two ministerships, I sat directly behind him in Parliament."
     
    "Every day we would chat and invariably the subjects he raised were about the books he was reading. That is the kind of the person he is and the rest of the country sadly has not seen it enough," he added.
     
     
    Mr Tharoor, a Lok Sabha member, said India was facing a choice between two different styles of leadership.
     
    "On the one hand we have a one-man-show. We have a hero on a white stallion cantering down to the appraisal saying he has all the answers to all the questions. On the other hand, you got a guy who says I don't know all the answers but I will come to you and listen and bring a group of experienced people to work together," he said.
     
    Mr Tharoor also hit out at the right-wing in the country and said traditionally the idea of the Right and Left emerged due to economic reasons, but today the right-wing was about "cultural nationalism".
     
    Cultural nationalism, he said, was about people saying "we are more anchored in our religion and authentic national identity and, therefore, we are the real people of the country".
     
    He said, "Because of such conviction, they make a dangerous mistake of identifying their party with the government and in turn with the nation. Therefore, those opposing will become anti-national." 
     
    The event was organised by the university's student newspaper DU Beat and students' representative body Hindu College Parliament.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Angel Investor Mahesh Murthy Booked For Harassing Woman

    Angel Investor Mahesh Murthy Booked For Harassing Woman
    The case was registered by the Khar police as the complainant mentioned that the accused was a resident of Mumbai.

    Angel Investor Mahesh Murthy Booked For Harassing Woman

    'Probably Didn't Even Know Herself:' Frozen Woman Found Dead Was Pregnant

    'Probably Didn't Even Know Herself:' Frozen Woman Found Dead Was Pregnant
    A Winnipeg woman who walked away from a hospital and was later found dead outdoors in frigid temperatures was two months pregnant, her mother says.

    'Probably Didn't Even Know Herself:' Frozen Woman Found Dead Was Pregnant

    Meerut Woman Abducted At Gun-point, Gangraped By Neighbour, His Relatives

    Meerut Woman Abducted At Gun-point, Gangraped By Neighbour, His Relatives
    A woman from Meerut has alleged that she was abducted by her neighbour on gun-point who along with his relatives gang-raped her.

    Meerut Woman Abducted At Gun-point, Gangraped By Neighbour, His Relatives

    Issue Of Canada Gurdwaras Banning Indian Govt Officials Raised In Lok Sabha

    Issue Of Canada Gurdwaras Banning Indian Govt Officials Raised In Lok Sabha
    The reported ban imposed by Sikh gurdwara committees in Canada on entry of Indian government officials in gurdwaras operated by them found its echo in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

    Issue Of Canada Gurdwaras Banning Indian Govt Officials Raised In Lok Sabha

    15-Year-Old Muslim Girl Alia Dresses As Krishna And Recites Gita; Deoband Darul Uloom Issues 'Fatwa'

    15-Year-Old Muslim Girl Alia Dresses As Krishna And Recites Gita; Deoband Darul Uloom Issues 'Fatwa'
      The Islamic seminary issued the fatwa to Khan on January 2 for reciting the verses of the Hindu holy book at an event in her school recently.

    15-Year-Old Muslim Girl Alia Dresses As Krishna And Recites Gita; Deoband Darul Uloom Issues 'Fatwa'

    Aadhaar Data For Rs 500? UIDAI Rejects The Tribune report, To File Case For ‘Misreporting’

    Aadhaar Data For Rs 500? UIDAI Rejects The Tribune report, To File Case For ‘Misreporting’
    Responding To The Tribune Exclusive Story Revealing How UIDAI Data On Aadhaar Holders Is Being Accessed Unauthorisedly, The Unique Identification Authority Of India Today Claimed It Was A Case Of “misreporting”, And That There Was No Data Breach. 

    Aadhaar Data For Rs 500? UIDAI Rejects The Tribune report, To File Case For ‘Misreporting’