Those Respectful Spies

Pragmatism is the hallmark of Indian diplomacy these days—if a superpower does illegal things, just ignore it.

Pragmatism is the hallmark of Indian diplomacy these days—if a superpower does illegal things, just ignore it. What else explains India not expressing strong reservations on the bugging of our Missions by American intelligence agencies? Unhappy about India’s shaky stand on the issue, a senior diplomat confronted National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon at a Conference of Indian Envoys held last week in New Delhi. Menon’s wit, however, saved the day: “If they wouldn’t have been listening to us, you would have said we are not worth anything. At least this shows that we are important.” Is he implying we should be happy we’re big enough to be spied upon?

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