

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
&quot;Sitka Display&quot;">In Why I Am a Hindu, one of India’s finest 
public
intellectuals gives us a profound book about one of the world’s oldest 
and
greatest religions. Starting with a close examination of his own belief 
in
Hinduism, he ranges far and wide in his study of the faith. He talks 
about the
Great Souls of Hinduism, Adi Shankara, Patanjali, Ramanuja, Swami 
Vivekananda,
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and many others who made major contributions to
 the
essence of Hinduism. He delves deep into Hinduism’s most important 
schools of
thought (such as the Advaita Vedanta). He explains, in easily accessible
language, important aspects and concepts of Hindu philosophy like the
Purusharthas and Bhakti, masterfully summarizes the lessons of the Gita 
and
Vivekananda’s ecumenism, and explores with sympathy the ‘Hinduism of 
habit’ practiced by ordinary believers. He looks at the myriad 
manifestations of
political Hinduism in the modern era, including violence committed in 
the name
of the faith by right-wing organizations and their adherents. He 
analyzes
Hindutva, explains its rise, and dwells at length on the philosophy of 
Deen
Dayal Upadhyaya, its most significant ideologue. He is unsparing in his
criticism of extremist ‘bhakts’, and unequivocal in his belief that 
everything
that makes India a great and distinctive culture and country will be 
imperiled
if religious ‘fundamentalists’ are allowed to take the upper hand. 
However, he
also makes the point that it is precisely because Hindus form the 
majority that
India has survived as a plural, secular democracy.</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Sitka Display&quot;">Access
codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.</span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Sitka Display&quot;">&nbsp;</span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Sitka Display&quot;">About the
Author</span></b></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Sitka Display&quot;">Shashi
Tharoor</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
&quot;Sitka Display&quot;"> was born on 9 March 1956 in London, United Kingdom. He is the
bestselling author of sixteen previous books, both fiction and non-fiction,
besides being a noted critic and columnist. His books include the path-breaking
satire The Great Indian Novel (1989), the classic India: From Midnight to the
Millennium (1997), and most recently, An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in
India, for which he won the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism,
2016 for Books (Non-Fiction). He was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman,
India’s highest honor for overseas Indians.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"></b></span></p>

