History makes for compelling books because they offer insights into our lives, says MP and writer Shashi Tharoor, who would love to write a historical fiction himself in future.

'Historical fictions are very important because they depict a different time period and throw fresh insight into our lives. They show how our lives derive from that time period. Reading historical fiction is a method of reconnecting,' Tharoor said, releasing writer and psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar's new book, 'The Crimson Throne', at the French ambassador's residence in the capital.
The book, Kakar's fifth novel, is a window to the decadence of Mughal India during 30 years of emperor Shah Jahan's reign and the war of succession to the Peacock Throne between the emperor's tolerant eldest son Dara Shukoh and his astute sibling Aurangzeb.

It is a dispassionate study of the first clash within the spiritual mosaic of Islam - a war precipitated by Dara's religious inclusiveness and Aurangzeb's bigotry told by two European travellers.
 
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