Phas gaye re Obama

Heads of state speak unfriendly things through proxies. Even as Modi and Biden met in the US, Obama made remarks on Indian democracy. But such interventions are short-lived excitement

The headline isn’t a typing mix-up but borrowed from the title of a brilliant 2010 Subhash Kapoor film. The reference now, as you may have guessed, is to former US President Barack Obama’s sharp criticism of Narendra Modi on the very day of his summit with Joe Biden in Washington DC. As you’d expect, he drew immediate anger from Mr Modi’s fans. His lucrative paid-speaking career may be over in India, at least for now.

Heads of state or chief executives of nations would almost never be seen saying halfway unfriendly things to their foreign counterparts, least of all admonish them