Tharoor of Trivandrum

When I first met Shashi Tharoor in the summer of 2006, he was in the midst of campaigning for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations. Much to his credit, he had agreed to a half-hour interview despite his chaotic schedule and not knowing me from Adam.

I always suspected that his indulgence of a novice interviewer probably had a lot to do with his own experiences as a young journalist. Writing for Youth India magazine in college, Tharoor had once interviewed India’s then-Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi no less, at her Safdarjung Road residence. Thirty years later, in his spacious office at the UN’s New York headquarters, he was on the other side of the microphone.

I’d asked him then what he’d like to see changed in the Indian political system.

“We have a number of leaders who have, frankly, very poor credentials to exercise – including people with criminal charges against them. And there’s unfortunately an enormous amount of corruption in our politics. Something needs to be done about it.�

Indeed. But the only people empowered to ‘do something’ are the Indian electorate – the greatest, grandest jury in the world. Tharoor, in running for election, is giving them the opportunity to change their destiny by electing someone who is worthy. And let there be no doubt, if there is indeed a worthy candidate standing for election from the Trivandrum seat once occupied by the legendary V.K. Krishna Menon – then it is Tharoor.

Born in London to a newspaper executive, Tharoor graduated with a degree in history from St. Stephen’s where he stood out as president of the students’ union and as an outstanding debator and actor. Then came a doctorate (at the age of 22) from Tufts University, and a few days later he was in Geneva working at the UN High Commission for Refugees.

“I defended my thesis on a Saturday, flew to Geneva on a Sunday and started work on Monday,� he admitted.

I asked him why he got into international diplomacy, since he seemed cut out for a career in politics.

“I was tempted to enter politics but realised that I didn’t have the correct profile. Neither did I have a poor man’s rural constituency, and nor was I a maharaja or the heir to an industrial empire. In India, the educated, salaried middle-classes go into diplomacy because there is no feasible political life for us.�

But despite his many credentials and talents, Shashi Tharoor is already up against multiple mini-crises in God’s own Kerala.

First, his theatrics in asking an auditorium full of people to hold their hearts ‘American-style’ while singing backfired completely. Someone took him to court for insulting the national anthem – a somewhat preposterous allegation against someone who’s always shouted from the rooftops (perhaps too loudly at times) about his Kerala roots and his 'Indian-ness.'

Next, the CPI(M) managed to unearth an article he wrote – 'India’s Israel Envy' – that appeared in the Israeli daily Haaretz (as well as other papers) – and accused him of all sorts of things. But a close reading of Tharoor’s piece reveals a gross misunderstanding of his intentions.

His column was not about Israel, but about India and Pakistan. The purpose of his article was clearly to deflect the calls for Indian “surgical strikes� on Pakistani territory and rule out a “Gaza option� for India. But yes, we can fault for using an unfolding event as a parallel. The assault on Gaza had just about begun when his article was published and he had no idea how it was going to develop.

In any event, he published an ‘Apologia’ that cleared the air and that should have been the end of the matter.

Finally, what takes the cake is the entry of a challenger by the name of Sasi Tirur into the Trivandrum Lok Sabha race. It is well known that political parties in Kerala have often put up namesakes just to confuse voters. The famous case in recent memory is the electoral loss by 1000 votes to Congress politician V.M. Sudheeran in 2004 because a V.M. Sudheeran who was put up as an independent won a few thousand votes.

It is important that Tharoor’s mini-crises be recognized for what they are – underhanded tactics to sabotage the campaign of an accomplished individual, whose election to the Lok Sabha will be beneficial not only to Trivandrum and Kerala but to India herself.

Shashi Tharoor has proved himself repeatedly over the course of a 30-year career on the world stage. As a diplomat at the UN, he has played an important role in some of the major events of our time – from the Vietnamese boat people crisis to the Yugoslav Civil Wars. And as Under Secretary-General of the Department of Public Information, he was one of the UN’s most able and articulate voices and one of Kofi Annan’s most trusted lieutenants.

Most importantly for Trivandrum, he has a proven track record as a consummate reformer with a remarkable ability to address and solve real problems and issues.

Electing Shashi Tharoor into office can usher in a new era of young, accomplished, educated and transparent politicians in India.

And Trivandrum can benefit hugely with a man of Tharoor’s caliber and intellect representing them in South Block.