Why Is Shashi Tharoor “Proud to Be a Hindu”? Congress Shares Video Explaining His Belief in Inclusive Faith

The video, posted on social media by the Congress MP Shashi Tharoor sees him talking about Hinduism, describing it as a religion of 33 crore divine manifestations and as one based in acceptance and pluralism.

Shashi Tharoor labels Hinduism as a very personal religion that does not have doctrines in the video.

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"I am a Hindu, and it's essentially between me and my conception of my maker. There are 33 crore ways in which you can name and imagine the divine. Pick your own, do what you like, pick half a dozen or a dozen...We have no Hindu Pope, no Hindu Sunday, and you can literally have your Ishta Devta any day of the week and fast for him or her or pray for him or her or whatever as you wish," Tharoor said in the video.

The video had been initially shared on X (previously known as Twitter) by a user whose name is Simran Bhatia. During the video sharing process, she wrote: “The man who understood Hinduism perfectly @ShashiTharoor it's so true that Hinduism is not rigid there r infinite ways to connect to that one divine and it's equally true that Hinduism assimilates all and there is no place of extremism and fanaticism well said sir.”

The man who understood Hinduism perfectly @ShashiTharoor it's so true that Hinduism is not rigid there r infinite ways to connect to that one divine and it's equally true that Hinduism assimilates all and there is no place of extremism and fanaticism well said sir @jameelsjam pic.twitter.com/YH4zryoDPc

— Simran Bhatia (@simranbhatia23) July 5, 2025

The leader of the Congress state had stated in the video that he was proud to be a Hindu like Swami Vivekananda, he had added that it is not the pride as a fanatic believer of Hindutva.

"You can even decide that you prefer the idea of the Nirguna Brahman. God without form, without qualities, without shape, without gender, and yearn for that if you wish...So all of these options that Hinduism gives you, to my mind, is absolutely wonderful. In that sense, I'm very proud to be a Hindu, and I'm happy to say that," he said.

However, Tharoor explained that he is not a Hindutva zealot who indulges in violence also by stating, that "it is not Hinduism."

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"But my pride in being a Hindu is that Vivekananda kind of pride. It's not the pride of the Hindutva fanatic who sort of chooses to behave like the British football hooligan, you know. You don't support my team, I'm going to hit you on the head. That's not Hinduism," he added.

Tharoor previously authored a book Why I Am a Hindu, which is an account of the philosophical areologies of Hinduism that claim to be plural, tolerant, and inclusive.

The very premise that he abhors in the book is the emergence of Hindutva which he regards as a political deformation of the very nature of being Hinduism. Tharoor explains and justifies a wide-minded, humane Hindu identity with help of personal experiences and history. The book calls to reclaim Hinduism against the authoritative forces behind it and accept the real spiritual and philosophical power of Hinduism based on diversity and acceptance.

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