Is India over its snub in the last U.S. presidential debate, when neither candidate mentioned the world’s largest democracy and a crucial regional partner? Maybe not, if the last few days at the World Economic Forum (WEF) outside New Delhi is any indication. Neither the news of President Obama’s re-election nor the opening of China‘s Communist Party Congress generated much buzz at the meeting of Indian minds this week, and what little comment there has been has come at the prodding of panel moderators reporters looking for soundbytes. “We congratulate Mr. Obama on his reelection,” Anand Sharma, India’s trade minister, said after being asked about it by a moderator. “Given the challenging the background [in the world today]…. expectations of people from their leaders are very high.”
That’s equally true in India, and that’s probably a much better explanation for why other country’s affairs haven’t come up much in the past few days.
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