Bharatiya Janata Party
Chairperson	Nitin Gadkari
Parliamentary Chairperson	Nitin Gadkari
Leader in Lok Sabha	Sushma Swaraj (Leader of Opposition)
Leader in Rajya Sabha	Arun Jaitley (Leader of Opposition)
Founded	6th April 1980
Preceded by	Bharatiya Jana Sangh
Headquarters	11 Ashoka Road, New Delhi, 110001
Newspaper	Kamal Sandesh
Youth wing	Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha
Women's wing	BJP Mahila Morcha
Peasant's wing	Bharatiya Kisan Sangh
Ideology	Indian Nationalism Integral humanism Economic liberalism Gandhian Socialism Conservatism Social conservatism
Political position	Centre-right and Cultural Nationalism[1]
International affiliation	None
Official colours	Saffron
ECI Status	National Party
Alliance	National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
Seats in Lok Sabha	114 / 545
Seats in Rajya Sabha	49 / 245
Election symbol
150px
Website
www.bjp.org
Politics of India Political parties Elections

	This article is part of a series about Bharatiya Janata Party	Joe Biden
Bharatiya Jana Sangh  · History of the BJP  · Organisation of the BJP  · Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha  · Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh  · Bharatiya Kisan Sangh  · BJP Mahila Morcha  · BJP Minority Morcha  · List of MP in the 14th Lok Sabha

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP pronunciation (help·info); translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament and in the various state assemblies. The Bharatiya Janata Party was started by advocating Hindu nationalism and conservative social policies, self-reliance, free market capitalistic policy, foreign policy driven by a nationalist agenda, and strong national defense.^[2]. The party's platform is generally considered right of center in the Indian political spectrum.^[1]

History[link]

Founders

Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first BJP Prime Minister of India (1998–2004).

The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was founded by Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951 to espouse the nationalist cause. The party opposed the appeasement policy of the Indian National Congress and was against any compromise in the matters of national integrity, unity and cultural identity. It was widely regared as the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. After Mookerjee's untimely death in prison in 1953 during an agitation demanding the effective integration of Jammu and Kashmir into India, the entire burden of nurturing the orphaned organisation and building it up as a nation-wide movement fell on the young shoulders of Deendayal Upadhyaya. For 15 years, he remained the outfit's general secretary and built it up. He raised a band of dedicated workers imbued with idealism and provided the entire ideological framework of the outfit, but never seriously challenged the power of Indian National Congress^{[citation needed]}. He did however groom future political leaders like Vajpayee, Advani and others. However, the vast majority of the party workers including Upadhyaya himself were derived from the RSS and brought with them the patriotic fervour and discipline of the parent organisation^[3]

The Jana Sangh won just three Lok Sabha seats in the first general elections in 1952. However, it gradually increased its strength and by 1962 had become one of the most effective opposition parties in India and seriously challenged the power of the Congress in various north Indian states. Uniform Civil code for all Indians, Ban on Cow slaughter, Scrapping of the special statues accorded to J&K, Promotion of Hindi were some of the major ideological issues taken up by the party.

After 1967, The party entered into coalition with like minded political parties and formed governments in various states such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and others. The party was in the forefront during the agitation against the emergency (1975–77) imposed by the Indira Gandhi regime and thousands of its leaders and workers were imprisoned across India. The party along with many other political parties merged with the Janata Party in 1977 to present an united opposition to the Congress. The Janata Party won with a huge majority in 1977 and formed the government with Morarji Desai as Prime Minister. Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had become the leader of the Jana Sangh after Upadhyaya's death in 1967 was appointed as the external affairs minister in the new government. The Janata government did not last long. Morarji Desai resigned as Prime Minister, and the Janata party was dissolved soon after. The BJS had devoted political organization to sustain the coalition and was left exhausted by the internecine wars within the Janata Party.

In 1980 the leaders and workers who were associated with the former Jana Sangh, founded the Bharatiya Janata Party with Vajpayee as its first President. The BJP was a strong critic of the Congress government, and while it opposed the Sikh militancy that was rising in the state of Punjab, it also blamed Indira Gandhi for divisive and corrupt politics that fostered the militancy at national expense. Sikh Leader Darasingh opines that Vajpayee thus "brought in Hindu-Sikh harmony."^[4]

However, the BJP never supported Operation Bluestar, the BJP strongly protested the violence against Sikhs in Delhi that broke out in 1984 following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by one of her Sikh bodyguards. The BJP was left with only two parliamentary seats in the 1984 elections; the party, however, had established itself in the mainstream of Indian politics, and soon began expanding its organization to attract young Indians throughout the country. During this period, Vajpayee remained center-stage as party President and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, but increasingly hard-line Hindu nationalists began to rise within the party and define its politics.

The BJP became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Movement, which was led by activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the RSS, and was seeking to build a temple dedicated to Lord Rama in place of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Hindus believed the site was the birthplace of the Lord, and there existed a temple long before Babri mosque was built after demolishing the temple, and thus qualified as one of the most sacred sites of Hinduism, where a temple should be reconstructed. The party under its president Lal Krishna Advani galvanised the nation with various rath yatras and succeeded in awakening the Hindu identity.

On 6th December, 1992, hundreds of VHP and BJP activists broke down an organized protest into a frenzied attack, and razed the mosque. Over the following weeks, waves of violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted in various parts of the country, killing over 1000 people. The VHP was banned by the government, and many BJP leaders including Lal Krishna Advani were arrested briefly for provoking the destruction. Although widely condemned by many across the country for playing politics with sensitive issues, the BJP won the support of millions of conservative Hindus, as well as national prominence.

With victory in assembly elections of Delhi in 1993 and Gujarat and Maharashtra in March 1995, and a good performance in the elections to the Karnataka assembly in December 1994 propelled the BJP to the centerstage. During the BJP session at Mumbai in November 1995, BJP President L.K.Advani declared that Vajpayee would be the Prime Minister of India if the BJP won the next parliamentary elections scheduled for May 1996. In that election, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha and Vajpayee became Prime minister. He, however had to resign within 13 days as the BJP was unable to muster the required majority.

In the Lok Sabha elections held in 1998 the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) obtained a simple majority. This time, the BJP (NDA) had allied with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Biju Janata Dal besides its existing allies, the Samata Party, the Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena. Outside support was provided by the Telugu Desam Party. The NDA had a slim majority, and Vajpayee returned as Prime Minister after the 13-day stint in 1996.^[5] But the coalition ruptured in May 1999 when the leader of AIADMK, Jayalalitha, withdrew her support, and fresh elections were again held.

On 13 October 1999, the BJP-led NDA riding on a wave of popularity following victory in the Kargil war and the charisma of Vajpayee, won 303 seats. The BJP alone had its highest ever tally of 183. Vajpayee became Prime Minister for the third time, and Advani became the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. This NDA Government lasted its full term of five years. Vajpayee and his economic team, led by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, continuing the policies initiated by the previous Congress Government under P. V. Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh, pushed through major privatizations of big government corporations, the liberalization of trade under World Trade Organization guidelines, airline deregulation, foreign investment and ownership and allowed private companies such as Mahindra World City and Reliance to build Special Economic Zones where property developers could build new cities with world-class infrastructure for factories that export products.

The BJP and the NDA suffered an unexpected defeat in the general elections in 2004, and failed to muster a parliamentary majority. Manmohan Singh of the Congress Party and United Progressive Alliance succeeded Vajpayee as Prime Minister.

In May 2008, the BJP won the state elections in Karnataka. This was the first time that the party had won in any south Indian state. In the 2009 general elections, BJP again faced defeat and its strength in Lok Sabha reduced to 116 seats. The unexpected defeat of BJP is attributed to bad performance of the party in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh.

Organisation[link]

The highest authority in the party is the President. Officially, the BJP constitution provides for a three-year term for the President. Recently, both Venkaiah Naidu and LK Advani resigned ahead of schedule due to factionalism and controversies. Rajnath Singh held this post from 2006 to 2009, he was succeeded by Nitin Gadkari. Beyond this, there are several Vice-Presidents, General-Secretaries, Treasurers and Secretaries. The National Executive consists of an undetermined number of senior party leaders from across the nation who are the highest decision-making body in the party. At the state level, a similar structure is in place, with every state unit being led by the respective President, who also officially serves a three-year term.^[6]

The rank-and-file leadership of BJP largely derives from the cadre of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has millions of affiliates. It also maintains close links to other Sangh Parivar organisations, such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (an organisation promoting economic protectionism).

Other organizations directly affiliated to the RSS include the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad which is the students' wing of the RSS, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the peasants' union and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which is the labour union.

BJP also maintains the BJP Mahila Morcha,which is its women's front, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, which is its youth wing, the BJP Minority Morcha, which is its Minority front and many other frontal organisations.

Ideology and political positions[link]

Former Prime Minister of India and BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2000. Under the Vajpayee government, the defence relations between India and Russia saw a new rebound with the signing of several key military deals such as the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, T-90S Bhishma, INS Vikramaditya and the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA.^[7]

Atal Behari Vajpayee considers the European concept of "secularism" inappropriate for Indian culture, and places it in opposition to Mohandas Gandhi's doctrine of Sarva Dharma Sambhava, which he considers India's own, traditional form of secularism.^[8] He describes the Indian secular as follows:

Mahatma Gandhi describes the correct attitude towards religion as 'Sarva Dharma Sambhava', equal respect to all religions. The concept of 'Sarva Dharma Sambhava' is somewhat different from European secularism which is independent of religion ... We may say that the Indian concept of secularism is that of Sarva Dharma Sambhava ... Sarva Dharma Sambhava is not against any religion. It treats all religions with equal respect. And therefore it can be said that the Indian concept of secularism is more positive.^[9]

The concept of Integral Humanism has a special place in its ideology, the BJP's right-wing politics include modern, conservatism, social conservatism, progressivism and enlightened nation which draws inspiration from India's ancient Indian culture and values. The BJP emphasize the role of free markets and individual achievement as the primary factors behind economic prosperity. To this end, they favor laissez-faire economics, fiscal conservatism, and the promotion of personal responsibility over welfare programs.^[1] As per the party's constitution the objectives of the party are explained thus:

"The party is pledged to build up India as a strong and prosperous nation, which is modern, progressive and enlightened in outlook and which proudly draws inspiration from India's ancient culture and values and thus is able to emerge as a great world power playing an effective role in the community of Nations for the establishment of world peace and a just international order. The Party aims at establishing a democratic state which guarantees to all citizens irrespective of caste, creed or sex, political, social and economic justice, equality of opportunity and liberty of faith and expression. The Party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India."

The BJP stands for strong national defence, small government^{[citation needed]}, and Quasi-market economic policies, but Integral Humanism has been its core philosophy and identity ever since its inception. The BJP stand on economic policies saw a sudden volte face in the mid nineties from a support of swadeshi products to the embracing of free market ideas. Another important factor is the ongoing territorial dispute over Jammu and Kashmir and the wars of 1947–48, 1962, 1965, and 1971, and recently the 1999 Kargil War. The party strongly advocates the view that Kashmir should remain an integral part of the country.^[10]

Economic policy under BJP-led governments at the state and center has been heavily focused on infrastructure building and pro-reform, which is congenial to Indian interests and to necessary conforming to international regulations (like environment laws) market-oriented economic growth without making subtle changes to the existing policies.

BJP in various states[link]

States with BJP government in orange; states with BJP led NDA coalition government in brown.

BJP is currently in power in six states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Goa) where the party enjoys a majority of its own. In four other states — Punjab, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Bihar — it shares power with other political parties of NDA coalition. The party was in the co-government with BJD in Orissa .BJP has earlier ruled Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh and till recently Uttarakhand.

List of current NDA Chief Ministers[link]

• Raman Singh – Chhattisgarh
• Manohar Parrikar – Goa
• Narendra Modi – Gujarat
• Prem Kumar Dhumal – Himachal Pradesh
• D. V. Sadananda Gowda – Karnataka
• Shivraj Singh Chauhan – Madhya Pradesh
• Arjun Munda – Jharkhand
• Nitish Kumar -Bihar
• Parkash Singh Badal -Punjab

Controversies and criticism[link]

Religious violence[link]

In March 1998, when BJP began its rule at the center attacks against Christians throughout India had increased significantly including the killings of priests, the raping of nuns, and the physical destruction of Christian institutions, schools, churches, colleges, and cemeteries.^[11]

Tehelka fake arms deal[link]

In 2001 then BJP President Bangaru Laxman accepted bribe of 100,000 (US$1,995)^[12] for his favourable recommendation to the Defence Ministry^[13] for supply of hand-held thermal imagers for the Indian Army^[14], from Tehelka journalists, who, posing as arms dealers, filmed him in a fake arms deal operation. On April 2012, he was sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment.^[15]

2002 Gujarat religious communal violence[link]

In 2002, communal religious riots took place in Gujarat under BJP rule between Hindus and Muslims. The National Human Rights Commission criticized the government, pointing to "a comprehensive failure on the part of the State Government of Gujarat to control persistent violations of rights. A judicial commission headed by G.T. Nanavati, a former chief justice of the Indian Supreme Court, constituted to examine allegations of Gujarat state administration's involvement in the riots of 2002 said that there was no evidence to implicate either Modi or his administration in the riots.

Babri Masjid Demolition[link]

In a 2005 book former Intelligence Bureau (IB) Joint Director Maloy Krishna Dhar claimed that Babri Masjid demolition was planned 10 months in advance by top leaders of RSS, BJP and VHP and raised questions over the way the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, had handled the issue. Dhar claimed that he was directed to arrange the coverage of a key meeting of the BJP/Sangh Parivar and that the meeting "proved beyond doubt that they (RSS, BJP, VHP) had drawn up the blueprint of the Hindutva assault in the coming months and choreographed the ‘pralaya nritya’ (dance of destruction) at Ayodhya in December 1992... The RSS, BJP, VHP and the Bajrang Dal leaders present in the meeting amply agreed to work in a well-orchestrated manner." Claiming that the tapes of the meeting were personally handed over by him to his boss, he asserts that he has no doubts that his boss had shared the contents with the Prime Minister (Rao) and the Home Minister (S B Chavan). The author claimed that there was silent agreement that Ayodhya offered "a unique opportunity to take the Hindutva wave to the peak for deriving political benefit."^[16]

Liberhan Commission findings[link]

A 2009 report, authored by Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan, blamed 68 people for the demolition of the mosque – mostly leaders from the BJP and a few bureaucrats. Among those named in the report were AB Vajpayee, the former BJP prime minister, and LK Advani, the party's then (2009) leader in parliament. Kalyan Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh during the mosque’s demolition, has also come in for harsh criticism in the report. He is accused of posting bureaucrats and police officers who would stay silent during the mosque’s demolition in Ayodhya.^[17] Former Education Minister in NDA Government Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi have also been found culpable in the demolition in the Liberhan Commissions' Report. Anju Gupta, an Indian police officer appeared as a prosecution witness. She was in charge of Advani's security on the day of the demolition and she revealed that Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi made inflammatory speeches.^[18]

List of presidents of the party[link]

Year	Name		Rationale
1980–1986		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
1986–1991		Lal Krishna Advani	First Term
1991–1993		Murli Manohar Joshi
1993–1998		Lal Krishna Advani	Second Term
1998–2000		Kushabhau Thakre
2000–2001		Bangaru Laxman
2001–2002		Jana Krishnamurthi
2002–2004		Venkaiah Naidu
2004–2006		Lal Krishna Advani	Third Term
2006–2009		Rajnath Singh	First Term (He was re-elected for second term in Dec 2006)
2009–		Nitin Gadkari

References[link]

External links[link]

Politics portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bharatiya Janata Party

• Bharatiya Janata Party — Official website
• Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
• Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha
• BJP India
• Punjab BJP
• BJP Punjab
• Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal
• Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal
• Bharatiya Janata Party at the Open Directory Project

v t e Bharatiya Janata Party Presidents Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1980 - 1986) · Lal Krishna Advani(1986 - 1991, 1993-1998, 2004-2006) · Murli Manohar Joshi (1991 - 1993) · Kushabhau Thakre (April 1998 - August 2000) · Bangaru Laxman (August 2000 - March 2001) · Jana Krishnamurthi (March 2001 - July 2002)  · Venkaiah Naidu (July 2002 - October 2004) · Rajnath Singh (January 2006 - December 2009) · Nitin Gadkari (December 2009 - incumbent) Branches Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad · Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha · Bharatiya Kisan Sangh · Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh Party leaders Sushma Swaraj · Arun Jaitley · Venkaiah Naidu · Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi · Narendra Modi · Sushil Kumar Modi · Murli Manohar Joshi · Shivraj Singh Chauhan History Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh  · Bharatiya Jana Sangh  · Janata Party  · Organisation

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Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor
Member of Parliament - Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 2009
Preceded by	Pannyan Raveendran
Constituency	Thiruvananthapuram
Minister of State for External Affairs
In office 28 May 2009 – 18 April 2010
Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Preceded by	Anand Sharma
Succeeded by	E. Ahamed
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
In office January 2001 – April 2007
President	Kofi Annan
Personal details
Born	(1956-03-09) 9 March 1956 (age 56) London, United Kingdom
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Tilottama Mukherji (divorced) Christa Giles (divorced) Sunanda Pushkar (2010 - present)
Children	Ishaan, Kanishk
Residence	New Delhi/Trivandrum
Alma mater	St. Stephen's College, Delhi (B.A.) Tufts University (M.A., M.A.L.D., Ph.D.)
Occupation	Writer, Diplomat, Politician
Religion	Hinduism
Website	tharoor.in

Shashi Tharoor (Malayalam: ശശി തരൂര്‍) (born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala. He previously served as the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information^{[citation needed]} and as the Minister of State for the Ministry of External Affairs.

He is also an author and columnist.

Childhood and education[link]

Shashi Tharoor was born in London to Lily and Chandran Tharoor, both Malayalis, hailing from the state of Kerala^{[citation needed]}. Tharoor studied at Montfort School in Yercaud and Campion School in Mumbai^{[citation needed]}. He attended high school at St. Xavier’s Collegiate School in Kolkata and obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.^[1]

He went on to win a scholarship to study at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and earned three degrees in three years - a Ph.D. and two master's degrees at the age of 22, Tharoor is the youngest person in the history of the Fletcher School to be awarded a doctorate.^[2] His doctoral thesis, "Reasons of State", was a required reading in courses on Indian foreign-policy making.^[3][4] In 2000, Tharoor was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree^{[citation needed]} by the University of Puget Sound and in 2008 he received an honorary doctorate degree by the University of Bucharest^{[citation needed]}.

Diplomatic career[link]

Beginning[link]

Shashi Tharoor's career in the United Nations began in 1978 as a staff member of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. From 1981 to 1984 he headed the UNHCR office in Singapore during the boat people crisis. In 1989 he was appointed as the Special Assistant to the Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs, the unit that later became the Peacekeeping Operations in New York. Until 1996, he led the team responsible for peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia.^[5]

Under-Secretary-General at the UN[link]

In 1996 Tharoor was appointed Director of Communications and Special Projects and as Executive Assistant to the Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In January 2001, he was appointed as the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, and as the head of Department of Public Information (UNDPI). In this capacity, he was responsible for the communication strategy, enhancing the image and effectiveness of the UN. In 2003, the Secretary-General appointed him to the additional responsibility of United Nations Coordinator for Multilingualism.^[5] During his tenure at the UNDPI, Tharoor reformed his department and undertook a number of initiatives, ranging from organizing and conducting the first-ever UN seminar on anti-Semitism,^[6] the first-ever UN seminar on Islamophobia^[7] and launching an annual list of "Ten Under-Reported Stories the World Ought to Know About".^[8]

On 9 February 2007, Tharoor resigned from the post of UN Under-Secretary-General and left the UN effective 1 April 2007.^[9]

Campaign for Secretary-General: 2007[link]

Wikinews has related news: Shashi Tharoor gives four-point plan to reform UN

2007 Secretary-General candidates[10]
	Name	Position
	Ban Ki-moon	South Korean foreign minister
	Shashi Tharoor	Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for public information; from India
	Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga	President of Latvia
	Ashraf Ghani	Chancellor of Kabul University, Afghanistan
	Surakiart Sathirathai	Deputy prime minister of Thailand
	Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad	Jordan's ambassador to the United Nations
	Jayantha Dhanapala	Former Under-Secretary-General for disarmament; from Sri Lanka

Wikinews has related news: Shashi Tharoor withdrawing candidacy

In 2006, Tharoor was nominated by the Government of India for the post of UN Secretary General.^[11][12][13] Tharoor came a close second (behind Ban Ki-moon) in each of the four straw polls conducted by the UN Security Council^[14][15][16] and won the online poll conducted by the BBC News website.^[17] After the fourth poll, Ban emerged as the only candidate with the support of all five permanent members, each of whom has the power to veto candidates. Of the seven contenders for the post, Tharoor remained the only other to enjoy a majority in the Security Council. One Permanent Member (later revealed to be the US under the Bush Administration) opposed and China abstained from voting. After the vote, Tharoor withdrew his candidacy expressing his confidence for Ban to win.^[18]

Had he been elected, the then 50 year old Shashi Tharoor would have been the second-youngest Secretary-General to be appointed to the post. The first being Dag Hammarskjöld who was appointed at the age of 46 years.^[19][20]

Post-UN career[link]

In February 2007, amidst rampant speculation about his post-UN future, it was presciently reported in the Indian press that Tharoor might be inducted into council of ministers of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as Minister of State for External Affairs.^[21] In the same month, it was reported in an American gossip blog that Tharoor was a finalist for the position of dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication in Los Angeles, though he withdrew his name from consideration at the final stage.^[22] Instead, Dr. Tharoor—in addition to a variety of other activities in his private life— became chairman of Dubai-based Afras Ventures, which established the Afras Academy for Business Communication (AABC) in Trivandrum, Kerala, India. He also spoke widely around the globe about India and Kerala, the state where he spent increasing amounts of time before moving for good in October 2008.^[23]

Political Career in India[link]

Shashi Tharoor at a march parade with NSUI President Hibi Eden and other Congress workers in Ernakulam, Kerala.

In March 2009, Shashi Tharoor contested the Indian General Elections in 2009 as Congress Party candidate from Thiruvananthapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) in Kerala. His opponents included P. Ramachandran Nair of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Neelalohitadasan Nadar of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), M.P. Gangadharan of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and P. K. Krishna Das of Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP).^[24] Despite being criticized as an "elite outsider" he went on to win defeating his nearest CPI rival P. Ramachandran Nair by a margin of approximately 100,000 votes. Subsequently Shashi Tharoor was selected as Minister of State in the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. On 28 May 2009 he was sworn in as the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs.

Tharoor become the first Indian celebrity to get 100,000 followers on Twitter.^[25] However, some of his tweets (or twitter posts) proved controversial and were quoted by the press and opposition parties to criticize his work. On 18 April 2010 Tharoor resigned from his post as Minister of State for External Affairs on instructions from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,^[26] following allegations that he had misused his office to get shares in the IPL cricket franchise of Cochin. Tharoor denied the charges and in his resignation speech called for a full inquiry. On 2 May 2010, he was nominated to be a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for External Affairs by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.^[27]

Literary career[link]

Shashi Tharoor delivering a lecture at Université d'été du MEDEF, 2007

Tharoor has written numerous books in English^{[citation needed]}.

Tharoor has been a columnist in each of India's three best-known English-language newspapers^{[citation needed]}, most recently for The Hindu newspaper (2001–2008) and in a weekly column, “Shashi on Sunday,” in the Times of India (January 2007 – December 2008). Following his resignation as Minister of State for External Affairs, he began a fortnightly column on foreign policy issues in the "Deccan Chronicle". Previously he was a columnist for the Gentleman^{[citation needed]} magazine and the Indian Express newspaper, as well as a frequent contributor to Newsweek International and the International Herald Tribune. His Op-Eds and book reviews have appeared in the Washington Post^{[citation needed]}, the New York Times^{[citation needed]} and the Los Angeles Times^{[citation needed]}, amongst other papers^{[citation needed]}. His monthly column, "India Reawakening", distributed by Project Syndicate, appears in some 80 newspapers around the world^{[citation needed]}.

Tharoor began writing at the age of six^{[citation needed]} and his first published story appeared in the “Bharat Jyoti”, the Sunday edition of "The Free Press Journal", in Mumbai at age 10^{[citation needed]}. His World War II adventure novel Operation Bellows, inspired by the Biggles books, was serialized in the Junior Statesman starting a week before his 11th birthday^{[citation needed]}. Each of his books has been a best-seller in India^{[citation needed]}. The Great Indian Novel is currently in its 28th edition in India and his newest volume.^[when?] The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone has undergone seven hardback re-printings there^{[citation needed]}.

Tharoor has lectured widely on India^{[citation needed]}, and is often quoted for his observations^{[citation needed]}, including, "India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay."^[28] He has also coined a memorable comparison of India's "thali" to the American "melting pot": "If America is a melting pot, then to me India is a thali - a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next, but they belong together on the same plate, and they complement each other in making the meal a satisfying repast.".^[29] (Other quotes in Wikiquote.)

Personal life[link]

A theatre buff and successful actor^{[citation needed]} in his school days, he played Antony to Mira Nair’s Cleopatra in a 1974 production of Antony and Cleopatra.^[30] At St. Stephen’s in the early 1970s he founded the Quiz Club, which is still in existence; he also revived the Wodehouse Society, which is no longer in existence. Upon election as President of the College Union^{[citation needed]} he relinquished the Secretaryship of the History Society as well as the editorship of the campus humour magazine “Kooler Talk.” He was invited by St. Stephen’s College to deliver the college’s 125th Anniversary Jubilee Lecture in 2005^{[citation needed]}.

He has been an elected Fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities^{[citation needed]} and a member of the Advisory Board of the Indo-American Arts Council and also served on the Board of Directors of Breakthrough^{[citation needed]}, an international human rights organization, the Board of Overseers of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the Board of Trustees of the Aspen Institute, and as an International Adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross. He also supported various educational causes, including as Patron of the Modern High School in Dubai^{[citation needed]}.

At the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1976, he founded and was the first chair of the editorial board of the Fletcher Forum of International Affairs, a journal examining issues in international relations.^[31]

Later he was married to Christa, a Canadian working at the United Nations.^[32] After their divorce, Tharoor married Sunanda Pushkar in at his ancestral home in Elavanchery village in Kerala's Palakkad district on 22 August 2010.^[33]

Controversies[link]

• In September 2009, Tharoor and S M Krishna were accused of staying in luxurious 5-star hotels.^[34] Tharoor defended himself, saying that it was because of the delay in his official residence being ready and he only spent from his own pocket for the accommodation.^[35] Later on Pranab Mukherjee's request^[36] Tharoor and Krishna moved out of the hotels.^[37]

• A controversy erupted when Tharoor, responding to the question as to whether he would travel in "Cattle Class", replied that he would do so. This remark on Twitter (@ShashiTharoor), equated the travelling public to cattle and also taunted his party, the Indian National Congress over their austerity drive.^[38] It was also reported that Congress may take action against him.^[39][40] However, this was subsequently resolved when Tharoor met his party leadership and offered them an apology/explanation.

• Another controversy erupted on Gandhi Jayanti when he said people should be working rather than staying at home taking a holiday, thereby paying real homage to Mahatma Gandhi.^[41]

• Tharoor was in the news again for publicly criticizing the new visa guidelines adopted by the Indian Government in the wake of the gaps exposed by the arrest of 26/11 terror suspects, David Headley and Tahawwur Rana. For this he was criticized for breaking ranks with the official position of the Government. He later met External Affairs Minister, SM Krishna and explained his position on the issue. The rules were subsequently partly modified.^[42]

• In January 2010, Tharoor criticized Gandhi and Nehru for their vision on Indian foreign policy by the Indian media. This angered his party, the Indian National Congress. In the wake of this controversy, he held a press conference describing the report as "inaccurate" and "tendentious"."^[43]

• In February 2010 when accompanying^[44] the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, he said "We feel that Saudi Arabia has a long and close relationship with Pakistan, that makes Saudi Arabia even more a valuable interlocutor for us. When we tell them about our experience, Saudi Arabia listens as somebody who is not in any way an enemy of Pakistan, but a friend of Pakistan and, therefore, will listen with sympathy and concern to a matter of this nature". He was asked whether India expected Saudi Arabia, given their close ties with Islamabad, to help address the terror threat from Pakistan.^[45] The remark about Saudi Arabia being a "valuable interlocutor" raised a strong reaction within the Indian political circle.^[46] The Pakistani press even went on to report that he had proposed that Saudi Arabia play a mediator's role in improving India's relationship with Pakistan.^[47] In response, Tharoor tweeted saying, "An interlocutor is someone you speak to. If I speak to you, you are my interlocutor. I mentioned the Saudis as our interlocutors, i.e. the people we are here to speak to".^[45]

• In February 2010, a website called "Keralawatch" published an investigative report which alleged that Tharoor used incomplete records to enrol his name in the voter's list in Thiruvananthapuram constituency.^[48]

• Lalit Modi published the shareholders details of Kochi-IPL team's franchise owners, Rendezvous Sports World (RSW) group in his Twitter account^[49] and also mentioned that he was asked by an influential Union Minister not to get into details of Sunanda Pushkar, who was given a sweat equity of approximately 4.5 per cent of total equity (estimated by the media to be worth Rs 70 crore) in Kochi IPL team.^[50][51] In an official statement,^[52] Tharoor denied having made any financial gains from the sale or having pressured Modi in any way. He further accused Modi of trying to delay and discredit the new owners so that the franchise can be re-awarded elsewhere. RSW protested Modi's breach of confidentiality agreement. Sunanda Pushkar also issued a statement denying being a proxy for Tharoor.^[53] Later amidst demands for his resignation from the Union Cabinet by the opposition parties,^[54][55] Sunanda Pushkar gave up the sweat equity offered to her by RSW.^[56] But tht Income Tax department stated that she will have to pay income tax on her sweat equity in Rendezvous Sports World even after having given it up and non payment will lead to her arrest.[1] Allegations that this was pay back for denying a request to not issue a visa to a South African model close to Lalit Modi have surfaced, and so have death threats to Shashi Tharoor by the Mumbai underworld.^[57] Under severe push from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee combine, the Congress core committee decided to ask for Tharoor's resignation.[2].18 April 2010 Shashi Tharoor resigned from the post of Minister of State in MEA after calling for a full inquiry into the matter.

Honors, Awards and International Recognition[link]

• 1976 - Wins the Rajika Kripalani Young Journalist Award for the Best Indian Journalist under 30.^[58]
• 1990 – Wins the Federation of Indian Publishers' Hindustan Times Literary Award for the Best Book of the Year for The Great Indian Novel.^{[citation needed]}
• 1991 – His book The Great Indian Novel wins the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Best Book of the Year in the Eurasian Region.^[58]
• 1998 – Awarded the Excelsior Award for excellence in literature by the Association of Indians in America (AIA)^{[citation needed]} and the Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP).^[58]
• 2000 – Conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in International Affairs by the University of Puget Sound^[58]
• 1998 – Named Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland^{[citation needed]}

• 2004 – Awarded the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, India’s highest honour for non-resident Indians. But did not accept it at the time owing to UN rules prohibiting acceptance of governmental honours.^{[citation needed]}
• 2007 – Went on to accept the award after having resigned from the position of Under Secretary General at the UN.^[59]
• 2008 – Conferred a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of Bucharest, Romania.^{[citation needed]}
• 2009 – Awarded the Zakir Hussain Memorial "Pride of India" Award.^{[citation needed]}
• 2009 – Awarded GQ's Inspiration of the Year Award at its Man of the Year Awards.^{[citation needed]}
• 2009 – Presented with the Hakim Khan Sur Award for National Integration by the Maharana of Udaipur.^{[citation needed]}
• 2010 – Awarded the Sarva Deshiya Prathibha award by the Pazhassiraja Charitable Trust, Kozhikode.^[60]
• March 2010 – Awarded "New Age Politician of the Year" Award by NDTV at its Indian of the Year awards.^{[citation needed]}
• 2010 – Awarded the Fifth IILM Distinguished Global Thinker Award in New Delhi^[61]
• 2010 – Awarded Digital person of the year at the first ever Indian Digital Media Awards (IDMA) for popularising the digital medium in India^[62]

Bibliography[link]

Fiction[link]

• The Great Indian Novel (1989)^[63]
• The Five Dollar Smile and Other Stories (1990)^[64]
• Show Business (1992)^[65]
• Riot (2001)^[66]

Non-fiction[link]

• Reasons of State (1982)^[67]
• India: From Midnight to the Millennium (1997)^[68]
• Nehru: The Invention of India (2003)^[69]
• Bookless in Baghdad (2005)^[70]
• The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India - The Emerging 21st-Century Power (2007)^[71]
• Shadows Across the Playing Field: Sixty Years of India-Pakistan Cricket (2009)(along with Shaharyar Khan)^[72]

Illustrated books[link]

• Kerala: God’s own country (2002) (along with artist M.F. Husain)^[73]
• L'Inde (French) and India (English) (2008) (along with photographer Ferrante Ferranti)

References[link]