For example, why was it necessary for Mr Miliband to arrive within four weeks of Mr Brown’s visit? Was he foolish to air his personal views, or had he brought a message from the government he represents, even if he delivered it rudely and crudely? At one stage in his hectoring talks with Dr Singh and foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee, Mr Miliband spoke of his discussions with US President Barack Obama’s team. Was he using this to reinforce his own remarks? All in all, the situation calls for a keen vigil and brisk activity on the part of Indian diplomacy. It is no secret that during the last eight years India has dealt with the Republican administration in the US. When the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal was the main item on the agenda and former President George W. Bush was exceptionally supportive of India, this country had put virtually all its eggs in the Republican basket. Whether sufficient effort has been made to contact, inform and befriend the new rulers in Washington is not known.
There is another aspect of the matter that most official sources are trying to avoid, but it cannot be waved aside with snide remarks about the British foreign secretary. So objectionable were Mr Miliband’s misdemeanors that he should have been asked to cut short his visit and return home. In similar circumstances even world statesmen of Charles de Gaulle’s stature have been so treated, as happened when, during a visit to Canada, the towering French leader had spoken of independence for the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec. Here, Mr Miliband was invited to accompany Rahul Gandhi to the latter’s parliamentary constituency, Amethi.
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5:55 AM
Moderate Islamist here
