Of Shashi Tharoor, Sai Baba and The Indian Rationalist Association…
Majority of the Indian Public might not have known much about Shashi Tharoor until he was announced as the India-backed candidate for the post of UN Secretary General, soon to be relinquished by Kofi Annan. All I knew of Shashi Tharoor was that he was working with the UN and that he writes a fortnightly column for THE HINDU. So I thought maybe I should get to know more about him.
Even as I was googling around for info on Shashi Tharoor, I found the following quote by Shashi on Wikipedia, which immediately caught my eye – “Saibaba and Infosys are, in fact, emblematic of an India that somehow manages to live in several centuries at once”.
But after some more googling, I found that quote to be the reason for a rather strange letter doing the rounds. The Indian Rationalist Association (IRA) was circulating a letter addressed to the Government of India to "Withdraw Shashi Tharoor’s Nomination" because according to them –
Shashi Tharoor's nomination is bound to become a major embarrassment for India, as he is an articulate and avowed propagator of blind faith and superstition, and ridicules the scientific outlook of India’s policy, enshrined in the Indian Constitution. If he becomes the UN Secretary-General, he will moreover cause serious damage to the reputation of the August world organisation.
This is ridiculous to say the least. Just because Shashi Tharoor believes in Godman Satya Sai Baba, does it mean he is a hindrance to the progress of the 191 nations under the UN Umbrella? It is his own prerogative and as long as he doesn’t enforce it upon others, nobody should find it a problem.
The Indian Rationalist Association not only excoriates Godmen. It also ridicules people who believe in God. In early 2005, I had been to one of the sessions of Dr. Narendra Nayak, the then President of the Indian Rationalist Association. He showed some clippings of Satya Sai Baba and Mata Amritandamayi and tried to convince the audience that these Godmen were into hoodwinking people and their so-called miracles were a farce. Even worse, Dr. Nayak went on to denounce God and called upon the audience comprising of Engineering Graduates from around the country to act rationally.
The impact of such a session can be immediately felt. Many among the audience felt they were enlightened by this session and started sounding a bit agnostic from then. Dr. Nayak might have been right or wrong. But then, nobody can deny the fact that Satya Sai Baba and Mata Amritandamayi have done yeoman service to the poor through Charity. After all, “Service to Humanity is Service to God”.
My best wishes for Shashi Tharoor to become the first Indian UN Secretary-General. All these false-propaganda and hate campaigns must only increase his resolve to get the Top Job in United Nations.
Even as I was googling around for info on Shashi Tharoor, I found the following quote by Shashi on Wikipedia, which immediately caught my eye – “Saibaba and Infosys are, in fact, emblematic of an India that somehow manages to live in several centuries at once”.
But after some more googling, I found that quote to be the reason for a rather strange letter doing the rounds. The Indian Rationalist Association (IRA) was circulating a letter addressed to the Government of India to "Withdraw Shashi Tharoor’s Nomination" because according to them –
Shashi Tharoor's nomination is bound to become a major embarrassment for India, as he is an articulate and avowed propagator of blind faith and superstition, and ridicules the scientific outlook of India’s policy, enshrined in the Indian Constitution. If he becomes the UN Secretary-General, he will moreover cause serious damage to the reputation of the August world organisation.
This is ridiculous to say the least. Just because Shashi Tharoor believes in Godman Satya Sai Baba, does it mean he is a hindrance to the progress of the 191 nations under the UN Umbrella? It is his own prerogative and as long as he doesn’t enforce it upon others, nobody should find it a problem.
The Indian Rationalist Association not only excoriates Godmen. It also ridicules people who believe in God. In early 2005, I had been to one of the sessions of Dr. Narendra Nayak, the then President of the Indian Rationalist Association. He showed some clippings of Satya Sai Baba and Mata Amritandamayi and tried to convince the audience that these Godmen were into hoodwinking people and their so-called miracles were a farce. Even worse, Dr. Nayak went on to denounce God and called upon the audience comprising of Engineering Graduates from around the country to act rationally.
The impact of such a session can be immediately felt. Many among the audience felt they were enlightened by this session and started sounding a bit agnostic from then. Dr. Nayak might have been right or wrong. But then, nobody can deny the fact that Satya Sai Baba and Mata Amritandamayi have done yeoman service to the poor through Charity. After all, “Service to Humanity is Service to God”.
My best wishes for Shashi Tharoor to become the first Indian UN Secretary-General. All these false-propaganda and hate campaigns must only increase his resolve to get the Top Job in United Nations.
posted by VAC | 3:09 AM
5 Comments:
hmm... i'm not sure about sai baba.. but, i fully endorse shashi tharoor's candidature and believe the whole of india must too. his pedigree, education, secular outlook in addition to his years of experience in the UN make him the right person for the top job.
Why is the indian government apprehensive about the nomination of "Shashi Tharoor"? (Refer to "The Hindu" dated june 21)
The Anti-campaign will create a misconception that Indians are not capable of playing a role of a global leader.
I feel that this gamble (Nomination of shashi tharoor) is worth taking as it gives us a visibility in international administration.
Shashi tharoor's candidature will help us to market "Brand India" value. We, Indians , are capable of taking up the highest responsibility in any fields.
Yes...ridiculous to say the least... Regular readers of his articles and who've been following the themes of his books would agree that there's no denying his pluralistic outlook. His credentials as an insider and the increasing importance of national identity in the selection process only add weight to his candidature..I join you in wishing him the best...
i agree that some one can't be set aside or looked down upon based on his/her reigious beliefs... every single UN general has been a god believer till now and we can't afford to have a person in that post who has no regard for the sentiments of the more than 90% of the god fearing world population... IRA represents that dissatisfied lot of india who are frustated by superstitions and the blind following of religion based propaganda thats so common in india, and this kind of extreme expressions often leads to extreme measures on their part. whether sai baba is a true incarnation of god or not is a different story, but can u ignore the goods to the society that IRA has done over the years, however harsh or loud they may sound? infact i dont see any difference between wat IRA does and what comedian vivek does in so many tamil movies where he criticizes various religious practices. IRA stands on one extreme of a balance, on the other end of which stands Shiv Sena and the Sangh Parivar. i guess both can never be always wrong and then not always right either
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