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Trivia: The author is the son of a prominent South Indian politician Shashi Tharoor. The flair for writing seems to run in the family.

The_Colonel 3y ago
I'm not very knowledgeable on India, but have seen Shashi Tharoor mentioned a couple of times and from what I've read he seems to be an accomplished intellectual with reasonable views and nonpartisan politics. It's a pity he's not more prominent in Indian (or international) politics.
- fakedang 3y ago
  His flair for language is the reason he's not so prominent - he's seen as an outsider, and honestly would not be elected as an MP, were it not for the demographics of his constituency (Trivandrum - think extremely educated South Indians who have significant exposure abroad, who look up to class language). To become prominent in Indian politics, you have to be willing to roll in the mud with the pigs, hurling insults and scorn at everyone. He was a candidate for UNSG (and lost to Ban Ki Moon).
- sumedh 3y ago
  > he's not more prominent in Indian (or international) politics. The general Indian public does not like intellectuals.
- alephnerd 3y ago
  Because he's the Indian equivalent of Nicholas Kristof. He's a very smart guy, but he never did his time in the domestic policy space until after he lost the Secretary General election at the UN. Unlike a number of other Indian politicians in all parties, he hasn't shown that he has experience managing a state sized administration. In his party alone, there are former Chief Ministers like Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot who can show they can manage an administration as well as rally party workers. The best way to become a PM in India post-1991 is to be a Chief Minister who has actually delivered on development (either economic development or social development). That's why Narendra Modi keeps winning. He has a very dark past, but the Gujarat model does resonate. If Ashok Gehlot was younger, he could have pointed out to how under his tenure as CM he brought RJ's HDI from one of the lowest in the country and the world to around or above the Indian average by 2019. Shashi Tharoor did consider becoming a CM, but it's difficult to beat the CPIM in his home state

The_Colonel 3y ago

I'm not very knowledgeable on India, but have seen Shashi Tharoor mentioned a couple of times and from what I've read he seems to be an accomplished intellectual with reasonable views and nonpartisan politics. It's a pity he's not more prominent in Indian (or international) politics.

fakedang 3y ago
His flair for language is the reason he's not so prominent - he's seen as an outsider, and honestly would not be elected as an MP, were it not for the demographics of his constituency (Trivandrum - think extremely educated South Indians who have significant exposure abroad, who look up to class language). To become prominent in Indian politics, you have to be willing to roll in the mud with the pigs, hurling insults and scorn at everyone. He was a candidate for UNSG (and lost to Ban Ki Moon).
sumedh 3y ago
> he's not more prominent in Indian (or international) politics. The general Indian public does not like intellectuals.
alephnerd 3y ago
Because he's the Indian equivalent of Nicholas Kristof. He's a very smart guy, but he never did his time in the domestic policy space until after he lost the Secretary General election at the UN. Unlike a number of other Indian politicians in all parties, he hasn't shown that he has experience managing a state sized administration. In his party alone, there are former Chief Ministers like Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot who can show they can manage an administration as well as rally party workers. The best way to become a PM in India post-1991 is to be a Chief Minister who has actually delivered on development (either economic development or social development). That's why Narendra Modi keeps winning. He has a very dark past, but the Gujarat model does resonate. If Ashok Gehlot was younger, he could have pointed out to how under his tenure as CM he brought RJ's HDI from one of the lowest in the country and the world to around or above the Indian average by 2019. Shashi Tharoor did consider becoming a CM, but it's difficult to beat the CPIM in his home state