Indian politician, former diplomat and writer, he is currently serving as Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram. He is also the current Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs. During 2009-10, he was Minister for External Affairs for the State. In 2006, he was in second position in the UN Secretary General Elections after which he departed from the UN. He has authored many books dealing with history, culture, film, politics, foreign policy etc. He also wrote columns for The New York Times, The Times of India, The Washington Post and many more. Some of his noted works include “The Great Indian Novel”, “Pax Indica”, “Show Business”, “Bookless in Baghdad”, “India Shastra: Reflections on the Nation in our Time”. He has won many awards and acclaims like the ‘Zakir Hussain Memorial Pride of India Award’, ‘New Age Politician of the Year by NDTV’, ‘Excelsior Award for excellence in literature by the Association of Indians in America’.