Shashi Tharoor’s biggest crime, it would appear, was his smug manner. As sociologist Ashis Nandy points out, the smartest Indian politicians generally work at looking dumb. The late P V Narasimha Rao managed to change India’s entire licence-permit-raj, but never once did you get the impression that he was anything but an old-style politician. The Congress party has had some of the most corrupt politicians, but they didn’t go around flashing their wealth. This is something that poor Mr Tharoor never understood. What else can one expect from the twittering classes?
Archana Sud, New Delhi
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