Most people of India do not have the habit of reading more than two dailies. And if one keeps a taste of reading more than a dozen a day he will satisfy with New York Times from America and the Tele graph from London. The Washington Post or Asian Age may not be a selection for an august reader. The PMO office in India has made it a big business by compelling all Indians to read the Washington Post. And that all started with an article published in the Post against Indian PM Dr Manmohan Singh.
Whether or not Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a sad figure, it is not the concern of Americans. It is the concern of Indians. In India itself there is harsh criticism against the PM about 2G scam, Coal gate and what else. He is the subject matter of offensive articles and crude poems. For instance in a poem by Kerala’s former Co-operation Minister G Sudhakaran, the PM has been ridiculed much. Mr. Sudhakaran has, of course, written a more vulgar poem about US President Barrack Obama titled “Who are you Obama?”. Nevertheless, none from the US is seen worried about the humiliation done to Obama by Sudhakaran’s poem published in a Malayalam daily.
The man in the Washington post who wrote the article about Manmohan Singh may not be a person of high esteem. He is just a column writer and then why the PMO office makes it a big issue. The profile published by the Post said the prime minister's image of a 'scrupulously honorable, humble and intellectual technocrat' had turned into one who is 'a dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government'. This observation is apparently true as corruption in the country is far beyond any reckon.
It is better for PMO office to keep their mobile phones on 'Manmohan Singh mode', that is, on the silent mode. There is no need for much hullaballoo about the article in the Washington Post.
K A Solaman
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