'Try renting an apartment using a Muslim name': Tharoor pens letter in response to Twitter spat with Kher

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has on Tuesday defended his stand over his Twitter fight with Anupam Kher saying though India was a plural society, the cultural iconography of the country was largely Hindu. A Twitter spat had ensued between Tharoor and Kher on 30 January when Kher had told CNN-IBN during an interview with Bhupendra Chaubey that he was scared to openly say he was Hindu. When Tharoor had tweeted against it, Kher had called him a ‘Congi Chamcha’. [caption id=“attachment_2608010” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Anupam Kher and Shashi Tharoor in file photos. Ibnlive[/caption] This spat saw several media houses writing about it and both their tweets against each other got several comments and retweets on the microblogging site. Tharoor defended his argument against Kher’s comment in a column on NDTV calling it absurd. He pointed out that it was perhaps the minorities in the country who had to struggle much harder to be accepted, something that the majority Hindus take for granted. In the column on NDTV he said, “Try renting an apartment, for instance, while using a Muslim name: there are many parts of many towns where you will be turned away with one specious excuse or another. And yet Muslims are expected to grin and bear it, and move on. “ “So when I said, truthfully, that I openly, and without self-consciousness, say I am Hindu, I am acknowledging that it’s far easier for me to do so than it is for an Indian Muslim or Christian to wear his faith on his sleeve without being typecast for doing so. And when I added that I am not the Sangh’s kind of Hindu, I meant that I am not belligerent about my Hinduism,” Tharoor wrote. Tharoor had earlier tweeted at Kher saying:

Come on Anupam. I say it all the time. I'm a proud Hindu. Just not the Sangh's kind of Hindu. @AnupamPkher https://t.co/jLgKlYwL96

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 30, 2016

This did not go down well with the actor who retaliated with calling Tharoor a ‘Congi Chamcha’ — a term largely used on social media by trolls.

Come on Shashi. Never thought you will misinterpret my statement like trolls do. And behave like a Congi Chamcha. https://t.co/SOD44ZPYvM

— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) January 30, 2016

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Tharoor had called out Kher for his abusive language and said he was a proud Congress member:

. Abuse, @AnupamPkher , is what you use when you run out of arguments. I'm a proud MP of @INCIndia &I don't resort to insults. #CongiChamcha

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 30, 2016

Tharoor in his column pointed out that he was proud of belonging to Hinduism because it was the only religion that did not claim to the only true religion. He said, “In other words, what I am proud of about Hinduism is precisely what the Sanghis are most ashamed of, and wish to change. “ At the end of the column, Tharoor invited Kher for a ‘drink and chat’, hope that their Twitter fight could serve as an initiative for Hindus to debate on “we can proudly avow about our faith”. Now will the two bury the hatchet and have a healthy discussion on being a Hindu? Only time can tell. Read the entire column written by Tharoor here.