'It's a fine gesture': Shashi Tharoor says nothing wrong in PM Modi gifting Bhagavad Gita to Putin

Published on: Dec 07, 2025 05:51 PM IST

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PM Modi gifted a copy in Russian of Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita to Russian President Putin during his recent New Delhi visit.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday described Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his recently concluded New Delhi visit as a 'fine gesture'.

Shashi Tharoor on PM Modi gifting Bhagavad Gita to Russian President Putin.

Among the gifts by PM Modi to President Putin during his New Delhi visit from December 4 to 6 was a copy in Russian of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

Bhagavad Gita is about Lord Krishna’s guidance to Arjuna on the ideas of duty, the eternal soul, and spiritual liberation. “Its timeless wisdom inspires ethical living, mind control, and inner peace, with translations making it accessible to modern readers worldwide,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

Reacting to the gift, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Sunday that he sees nothing wrong in gifting Gita to Putin, adding that it is very much a part of our ancient civilisation and history.

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…the Gita is very much a part of our ancient civilisation and history. To give it in Russian means conveying to another culture some of the essential lessons that we have learned from our civilisational and spiritual heritage. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that," Tharoor said, as per a video of him speaking to reporters shared by ANI news agency.

It's not an attempt to convert Mr Putin to Hinduism, he added.

"It's a way of just showing him something that he can understand in his language. It's a fine gesture because it reflects what we are," Tharoor said.

On Union minister HD Kumaraswamy's X post regarding the inclusion of the Bhagavad Gita in school education, Shashi Tharoor said he made his point when he published The Great Indian novel in 1989, a satirical retelling of the Mahabharata.

“I already made the point that because we're studying in English medium doesn't mean we should not know our epics. I think there's no problem in reading in our school days the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and so on…,” Shashi Tharoor said.

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'It's a fine gesture': Shashi Tharoor says nothing wrong in PM Modi gifting Bhagavad Gita to Putin

PM Modi gifted a copy in Russian of Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita to Russian President Putin during his recent New Delhi visit.

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