Defender of a faith

What makes Mr Tharoor's book easy and readable is the highly personalised account of his interface with the various facets of the Hindu religion

The Hindu Way: An Introduction To Hinduism: Shashi Tharoor

Aleph, 340 pages, Rs  799

The greatness as well as the complexity of the Hindu belief system is that there is no one precise way of defining it. For instance, there are Hindus who are believers and there are also Hindus who are non-believers. There has always been room for both varieties of people in the world of Hindus. Not without reason has it been said that Hinduism is not strictly a religion but a composite and syncretic way of life.

In his latest book, The Hindu Way: An Introduction To  Hinduism, Shashi Tharoor, a