Shashi Tharoor misquotes Mirza Ghalib on his 'birthday', Javed Akhtar points out blunder

Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, often gets impresses people with his command over English. But this time, Tharoor found himself in a rather embarrassing position when he posted an Urdu poem on Twitter, wrongly quoting Mirza Ghalib. Not only this, he also wished the famous Urdu poet on an incorrect birth date. Tharoor wished Ghalib on his 220th birthday.

Soon, the Congress MP realised his mistake and tried to rectify it. Mirza Ghalib’s birthday falls on December 27.

ख़ुदा की मोहब्बत को फ़ना कौन करेगा?
सभी बन्दे नेक हों तो गुनाह कौन करेगा?
ऐ ख़ुदा मेरे दोस्तों को सलामत रखना
वरना मेरी सलामती की दुआ कौन करेगा
और रखना मेरे दुश्मनों को भी महफूज़
वरना मेरी तेरे पास आने की दुआ कौन करेगा...!!!
Mirza Ghalib’s 220th birthday. So many great lines....

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 20, 2019

Ghalib is an all-time favourite, but today is not his birthday. I was misinformed. Relish the lines anyway!

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 20, 2019

But then renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar joined in to point out that it wasn’t Ghalib’s poem.

“Shashi Ji, whoever has given you these lines should never be trusted again. It is obvious that someone had planted these lines in your repertoire to sabotage your literary credibility,” Akhtar commented on Tharoor’s tweet.

Shashi ji , who ever has given you these lines should never be trusted again . It is obvious that some one had planted these lines in your repertoire to sabotage you literary credibility .

— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) July 20, 2019

Akhtar also responded to many others who had shared Ghalib’s lines.

This too is not Ghalib .

— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) July 20, 2019

Later, Tharoor thanked Akhtar for pointing him out the blunder. 

"Thanks to @Javedakhtarjadu & other friends, I realize I've been had. The lines are not Ghalib's. Just as every clever quote is attributed to Winston Churchill even if he never said it, so it seems that whenever people like a shayari, they credit Ghalib for it! Apologies," Tharoor tweeted. 

Recently, Tharoor became a butt of jokes when met the wife and son of jailed former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt at his office on Thursday. On Friday, Tharoor took to Twitter to share a couple of pictures, saying: “Had a moving meeting yesterday with courageous ShwetaBhatt & her brave son Shantanu to discuss the prolonged detention of her husband @sanjivbhatt. Justice must be done!”

Soon after the Congress posted the pictures, people started trolling him, pointing out an Indian flag kept upside down on his table. 

The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 prohibits the desecration of or insult to the country's national symbols, including the National Flag, the constitution, the National Anthem and map of India including contempt of Indian constitution.