SHASHI THAROOR: THE IDEAL PARLIAMENTARIAN

As a Member of Parliament, Tharoor has converted his unorthodox entry into politics and diplomatic skills inherited from his UN days, into a potent asset. In a country notorious for long-winded bureaucratic bottlenecks and red tape-ism that often reduces development projects to crawl, Tharoor has displayed an irreverential approach to the system and the rules of conformity it demands.

Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s bio on his ever-buzzing Twitter page reads ‘MP for Thiruvananthapuram, Author of 20 books, Former Minister of State, Goverment of India, Former Under-Secretary General, United Nations’. The order is questionable. While his credentials as a bestselling author or a prolific career in the international body are well established, his modern-day political hat offers an interesting quandary worth unpacking.

Even to seasoned pundits, Tharoor’s journey since the commencement of his political career in 2007, could not be more different from the diary of a textbook politician. And often (or perhaps consequently) there has been a rush to categorise Tharoor as a fish out of water in Indian politics.

Not just because of certain personality traits of the three-term Member of Parliament, universally regarded as a suave, articulate and astute leader, are perhaps qualities less than commonly associated with our perception of the political class. Or because despite his verified credentials and potential he frequently appears to be underutilised by his own party, even as it faces an existential crisis. Or because unlike many he bumps into at Parliament’s Central Hall, Tharoor’s ascension to the very top is neither the product of a helpful lineage in this line of work nor by cutting his teeth in the swirl of party-affiliated student politics. Indeed the question of what an individual like Tharoor is doing investing his time, energy and legacy in Indian politics is one that has puzzled many.