Shashi Tharoor offers a profound re-examination of Hinduism, one of the world's oldest and greatest religious traditions. Openingwith afrankand touchingreflection onhispersonalbeliefs, helays out Hinduism's origins and its key philosophicalconcepts- includingVedanta,the Purusharthas, andBhakti - beforefocusingontexts such as theBhagadvagita. The'Great Souls', or key individualsof Hinduism,fromAdi Shankara toVivekananda,are discussed, as are everydayHindu beliefs and practices, from worship to pilgrimageto caste.Tharoor is unsparing in his criticism of extremism and unequivocal in his belief that what makes India a distinctive nation with a unique culture will be imperilled if Hindu 'fundamentalists', the proponents of 'Hindutva', or politicised Hinduism, seize the high ground. In his view, it is precisely because Hindus form the majority that India has survived as a plural, secular democracy.A book that will be read and debated now and in the future,Why I Am a Hindu, written in Tharoor's captivating prose,is a revelatory and original contribution to our understanding of religion in the modern era.