U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry weren’t the only notable absentees at Sunday’s unity rally in Paris. India too failed to send a high-level representative to honor the victims of the Charlie Hebdo shootings. In a decidedly tepid show of support to a grieving fellow democracy, New Delhi sent its ambassador.
It is hard to say exactly why India had such a weak presence in Paris. The notorious sluggishness of the foreign office may account for the decision, rather than anything ideological. Either way, India’s absence was apt. Because no major democracy has less to teach the world about how to respond to blasphemy.
Read Full Article »