Try renting an apartment using a Muslim name, Shashi tells Anupam

Twitter spat began between the two as veteran actor Anupam Kher said he is scared to openly call himself a Hindu

Indian Congress leader Shashi Tharoor while defending his Twitter argument with veteran actor Anupam Kher, said if the actor is scared to openly call himself Hindu in India, he should try renting an apartment with a Muslim name.

During an interview Kher confessed that he fears “saying I’m a Hindu”. “In this country, I’m scared to say that if I wear a tilak (mark worn by a Hindu on the forehead to indicate caste, sect) and a gerua (saffron colored clothes), then I will be branded as an RSS (right-wing party) guy or a BJP fanatic,” said Kher.



A spat broke out as Tharoor tweeted against Kher's comment, stating that though India has people from various religions, the country is recognised by Hindus at large. Kher in reply to the comment called Tharoor a 'Congi Chamcha'.

Stating that minorities in India are the ones who have to struggle much harder than Hindus to be accepted by society, Tharoor in a column on NDTV 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," he wrote.

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

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

Picking on Kher's abusive language, Tharoor in his tweet said he was a proud member of the Congress.

. 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

Taking an initiative to end the battle which began on Twitter, Tharoor at the end of the column invited Kher for a 'drink and chat', hoping to be able to "proudly avow about our faith."

This article originally appeared on NDTV.