Modi inspires Tharoor's last part of trilogy on India

Kolkata, Jan 14: Although critical of the Modi government, author-politician Shashi Tharoor says it was BJP's overwhelming victory in last year's Lok Sabha polls that inspired him to write his next book, the last in his trilogy on India.

"It (the idea of the book) took shape in my mind after the election. If there had been more continuity in government, I might have been inclined to await the 70th or 75th anniversaries to conclude the trilogy. But this now seemed like a moment to be seized," Tharoor told PTI.

His latest book 'India Shastra: Reflections on the Nation in Our Time', which would be released tomorrow at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF), is a portrait of under-transformation contemporary India.

"Each of the three marks a moment -- the 50th anniversary of Indian independence with 'Midnight to the Millennium'; the 60th with 'Elephant Tiger'; and now the sea change "Modi-fication" of the country in 2014," said the best-selling author who had switched over to politics after he joined Congress in 2009 from being a top diplomat in the United Nations.

He said only two sections of the book are about the Modi regime while rest take a broader view of our historical legacy, cultural evolution and national challenges.

In the past, Tharoor has been in trouble for gushing praises on Modi and was even sacked as party spokesperson in October last year. In his assessment of the new regime, Tharoor gives Modi only two marks on work and complains of his government being high on rhetoric.

"It's too early for a report card. Still, since you ask, 8 out of 10 for rhetoric, 2 out of 10 for results. Mr Modi's fine sound bytes have not seen much implementation so far," the Congress MP from Kerala said.

PTI