Shashi Tharoor has attacked the Prime Minister for his choice of headgears and called North Eastern headgears ‘outlandish’ in his recent remarks. According to a report in DNA, the former UPA minister has stated that PM Narendra Modi wears outlandish headgears but refuses to wear a skull cap.
Speaking in a seminar in Thiruvananthapuram over the topic of ‘Standing up to hatred: Violence and intolerance in contemporary India’, Tharoor reportedly stated,” Why does our Prime Minister, who wears all sorts of outlandish headgear wherever he goes around the country, refuse to wear a Muslim skull cap? You’ve seen him in hilarious Naga headdress, feathers, and various kinds of extraordinary outfits. Why does he refuse to wear the green?”
As per the report, Tharoor also went on to criticise the PM over why he calls Rahul Gandhi by an Urdu/Persian word ‘shehzada’ and not a Rajkumar. In the seminar that was organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies, run by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, Tharoor also reportedly launched an attack on the BJP over the usual lines of cow-vigilantism and communal violence.
It is notable that the Naga headgear that Tharoor has called hilarious, is a traditional Naga headdress adorned by the native tribes in Nagaland and it is a part of their cultural heritage. Tharoor, however, did not comment on the recent event where his own party President Rahul Gandhi had refused to wear the traditional Mysuru Peta.
Tharoor’s branding of traditional headgears as ‘outlandish’ has drawn severe criticism on social media.
When you are so out of touch with your own roots that you find native culture outlandish.? https://t.co/EKaBXXLcAK
— ?✍️? (@DimpleAtra) August 6, 2018
He is calling Naga Hornbill and Mizo headgear as “outlandish” — these are in fact the micro minorities that need protection. #IOI fail . https://t.co/TurIbwrIGw
— Reality Check India (@realitycheckind) August 6, 2018
Dear @ShashiTharoor what you insult as ‘outlndish’ are cultural symbols of many regions of India. Dont behave like a 2 penny stand up comic https://t.co/fq2Nq9ORAP
— Jiten Gajaria (@jitengajaria) August 6, 2018
Shashi Tharoor, who is out on bail on charges of abetting his wife’s suicide and had gone to court to gag Subramanian Swamy, is known for his suave English and oratory skills. But this time, both his vocabulary and idea of mockery seems to be borrowed, just like his “Hindu Pakistan” remark which exposed Congress and invited an FIR against him.
Earlier, a journalist with The Economist named Stanley Pignal had termed the North Eastern headgears as ‘outlandish’. While a foreign national’s condescension and lack of understanding of traditional attire are still understandable, it is really shameful for an Indian national who had represented the country at the UN and is an elected representative, to mock traditional customs of Indian states.
