Tharoor was outside India, working for the UN, and focusing on International Relations. Thus he remained ignorant of economic and social developments in India. He was elected from a highly educated but culturally and economically very different part of India which has done well by working abroad. He was drafted into politics not on the basis of his knowledge of India but his skill as a spokesman on International forums. Sadly, accusations of corruption dogged his tragic relationship with his late wife. He is currently on bail on charges of torturing her or abetting her suicide- if that is what it was. I mention all this because it would not be obvious to a foreigner than Dr. Tharoor is writing nonsense. It is hard to believe he lives on the same planet as the ordinary Indian.



Consider his eight trends. Tharoor does not understand that 'marginalized castes' triumphed in 1950 with universal suffrage. The anglophone lawyers disappeared from Parliament. Apart from Nehru himself, there was not a single member of the English speaking 'liberal elite' in the Cabinet, unless you count Deshmukh or TTK. But they were lightweights. Look at the power wielded by Kamraj- who couldn't speak Hindi, let alone English- or Jagjivan Ram's highly successful career or Chavan's rise, not to mention Shastri's displacing Morarji Desai. The fact is New Delhi, even in the Seventies, was a desert for Tharoor's sort. No nice restaurants or bars, zero night-life, and- if you went into Parliament- half the legislators would be spitting paan juice at your feet. That is why everybody ran away to the U.N.

I recall the great dismay in Chanakyapuri when Charan Singh became P.M. That yokel would stop people taking their morning walk to talk about cow fodder. Rajiv Gandhi did enable elites to get their feet under the table. Suddenly people who wore Citizen watches and drank 'Old Monk' (first manufactured by Brigadier Dyer's family) started sporting Rolexes and sipping Single Malt. But Rajiv's corruption was exposed by V.P Singh- an actual royal- who thought he'd get a lock on power by implementing the Mandal Commission's recommendations re. quotas for Other Backward Castes. The fool didn't get that the OBCs would vote for their own. Rajiv's assassination meant that the mantle of muscular Hinduism was taken up by the BJP. The Left's circular firing squad meant it would have to prop up Congress. Sill, there was a chance Rahul Baba might not be an utter moon calf. Thus, when Tharoor was inducted into politics, it looked like he'd backed the right horse. Sadly, instead of Rahul helping Tharoor, Tharoor had to help Rahul get elected in his native Kerala! The mainly Hindu, Hindi speaking belt was rooting for a Gujerati. Rahul's elitist associations did not destroy him. His stupidity did. Indians don't know what the word means. They have barely got their head round the fact that talent is not heritable.

There have always been some silly people in India who would speak out against Western ways. But everybody ignored them. There is no 'backlash' against something most Indians had zero exposure to. When they saw it they liked it. Anna Hazare was a silly old man. What his supporters wanted was less corruption of a sort Tharoor knows all to well- i.e. relatives and g.fs of Ministers getting rich through 'sweat equity'. Consider Kejriwal- he may wear a funny cap but he is an IIT graduate who worked for the (very corrupt) Tax office. He isn't against globalization. His City's prosperity depends on it. Modi benefited from the anti-corruption campaign because no one in his family had made any money despite his having been a very successful C.M. That's why he is still in power. Tharoor & Co appear venal, incompetent, and completely out of touch with reality.



Liberalization led to a real estate boom which meant land ownership became a crucial question. The Left collapsed in Bengal because it was taking land from peasants without making them rich. Some of the new rich sent their kids to Ivy League and bought 'Liberal' news outlets so as to gain countervailing power over the dynasty. But that game is played out. Income inequality does not matter in India because the rich borrowed money from Banks. They can walk away from India to their boltholes in London and New York.



Talk of 'increasing religiosity' is silly. Indira was the most religious PM. Narasimha Rao the most superstitious. He was infatuated with Chandraswami whom he palmed off on Kenneth Kaunda who, in turn, put him in touch with Tiny Rowland, whom the bogus Swami cheated so as to enrich the Al Fayeds. This sort of crazy shit only happens under Congress regimes.



Tharoor does not know that the RSS was a weak and imitative sister of the Congress Seva Dal. It gained political legitimacy during the Nav-Nirman and Emergency era. Indira & Rajiv fought back by killing non-Hindus. Rajiv was the guy who turned over the Babri Masjid to Hindu worship. Had he lived, he would have built the Temple and his dynasty would not now be dying nasty.



Pakistan is only a problem if you let it be a problem. Punish it when its Generals go crazy by all means. But that's all that is required. That country was way ahead of India in per capita income terms in 1990. Now it is behind Bangladesh. Modi has dealt with Pakistan. Our politicians can't go on blaming that country for everything bad that happens in India because sooner or later the voter will wake up and say- 'Pak is tiny compared to India. Why pretend all Ind's ills are its fault?'



India is young, but Rahul isn't young anymore. The guy is turning 50 in a few months. Modi scored a blinder by putting up Adityanath who is 2 years younger as a counterweight to the Rahul/Akhilesh dream team. But Adityanath had been in Parliament for 20 years. He wasn't a dynastic moon-calf.



As Tharoor says Social media has become ubiquitous. But shutting it down immediately cuts off the head of insurgencies and violent agitations. The thing is a double edged sword. Like China, India can use new technology to build administrative capacity and deal with nuisances.



Forget about 8 reasons for why Tharoor's party is rubbish. There is only one reason. It is a Fascist party of a wholly dynastic type. But its Fuhrer is a moon-calf. It is unelectable. Put Priyanka forward- anyway her son will soon be of age- and then see what happens. Alternatively, why not bring in cousin Varun- currently with the BJP? He and his Mum will be glad to reclaim their ancestral property.