EXCLUSIVE: Shashi Tharoor’s New Book Misleads Readers and Breaches Consumer Trust Through Marketplace Misrepresentation
✍️ Written by Saket Suman
When Shashi Tharoor announced on social media that his new book, The Sage Who Reimagined Hinduism: The Life, Lessons, & Legacy of Sree Narayana Guru, had been released by the Vice President of India, C.P. Radhakrishnan, the message carried the full institutional gravitas of a nationally endorsed publication. Released on December 30, 2025 at Sivagiri Mutt in Varkala, in the presence of the Governor of Kerala and senior religious and political leaders, the book was framed by Tharoor as a serious intellectual engagement with Sree Narayana Guru’s legacy and the Kerala Renaissance. It is precisely because of this stature, visibility, and public legitimacy that a parallel development on Amazon India demands thorough scrutiny: a flawed and misleading product listing that algorithmically links Tharoor’s book to reviews, ratings, and metadata belonging to a different author altogether, and raises troubling questions about consumer deception, marketplace accountability, and the integrity of digital book commerce.
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| Image Source: Shashi Tharoor |
Shashi Tharoor’s The Sage Who Reimagined Hinduism: The Life,
Lessons, & Legacy of Sree Narayana Guru is, at the time of publication of
this report, listed twice on Amazon India.
The first listing, a hardcover edition, correctly reflects the book’s author, format, and publication details (https://www.amazon.in/SAGE-WHO-REIMAGINED-HINDUISM-Narayana/dp/9365238501).
The second listing, presented as a Kindle edition scheduled for delivery on 25
January 2026 (https://www.amazon.in/SAGE-WHO-REIMAGINED-HINDUISM-Narayana-ebook/dp/B0G6Z7858F),
is where the problem begins. ARCHIVED HERE
That listing attributes authorship to noted and respected author Amitava Kumar, and when
users toggle from Kindle to hardcover, the title abruptly changes to The
Social Life of Indian Trains, a different book by Kumar,
published earlier and already carrying reviews. But the Kindle page continues
to algorithmically anchor itself to Tharoor’s title.
The effect is not harmless. Reviews and ratings written for
Amitava Kumar’s book, an earlier release that is currently performing
significantly better, are displayed against Tharoor’s title.
These reviews function as endorsements. In algorithmic bookshelf
of this age where star ratings influence purchasing decisions, bestseller
rankings, and recommendation algorithms, this crossover directly affects
consumer behaviour and market visibility.
To assume such a situation as a “technical error” is to
misunderstand both the law and the economics of digital commerce. Reviews are
not peripheral metadata; they are material information.
Indian law is unambiguous on this point. Section 2(28) of the
Consumer Protection Act, 2019 defines a misleading advertisement as one that
“falsely describes a product” or “gives false or misleading information” likely
to influence a consumer’s decision.
When reviews for one author’s book are presented under another
author’s title, the product is being falsely described. Section 2(47) of the
same Act categorises such conduct as an “unfair trade practice” when it
involves misrepresentation of quality, standard, or endorsement.
Reviews and ratings are widely recognised as proxies for
quality and reader approval; misattributing them is a misrepresentation by
definition.
The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 place an
explicit duty on marketplaces such as Amazon India. Rule 4(3) requires
platforms to ensure that information relating to goods is “accurate and
corresponds directly with the goods offered for sale.”
A system that merges or cross-pollinates reviews across
different ISBNs, authors, and titles fails this test. Rule 6(1)(b) further
prohibits e-commerce entities from engaging in or resulting in unfair trade practices, including
any conduct that misleads consumers about the nature or endorsement of a
product.
The structural or algorithmic linking of two unrelated
listings, resulting in the transfer of reputational capital from one book to
another, falls squarely within this prohibition.
Crucially, the law does not require proof of intent. Consumer
protection jurisprudence focuses on effect, not motive. Whether the
misrepresentation arises from faulty ISBN mapping, catalogue mismanagement, or
algorithmic error is legally irrelevant once consumers are exposed to
misleading facts. Nor does pointing out that an author may not be personally involved
dilute the seriousness of the issue. Liability in such cases rests primarily
with the marketplace intermediary and the seller accounts controlling the
listings.
The implications extend beyond individual buyers. Bestseller
rankings, recommendation engines, and visibility metrics are all
review-sensitive. By displaying Amitava Kumar’s reviews against Shashi
Tharoor’s book, Amazon’s system risks artificially inflating discoverability
and perceived credibility, while simultaneously distorting fair competition.
This is precisely the kind of asymmetry the Consumer Protection Act and the
E-Commerce Rules were designed to prevent.
The remedy is immediate correction. Listings must be delinked,
reviews reassigned to their rightful products, and misleading Kindle pages
withdrawn until accurate metadata is restored. Continuing to host such content
after it has been clearly identified would only deepen regulatory exposure.
Digital marketplaces thrive on trust. When that trust is compromised--not by opinion or critique, but by demonstrable misrepresentation--the obligation to act is immediate. This is not a glitch to be waved away. It is a clear case of misleading representation, potentially breaching Indian consumer protection principles and the E-Commerce Rules, 2020, and it demands prompt correction in the public interest by Amazon India and the entities controlling the listing.
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