Charm Offensive

The supremely informal way he meets people, the warmth he exudes, the curiosity he manifests, the homework he comes ready with, leaves the person on the receiving end mesmerised. Don't forget he has been President for nearly eight years, visited countless countries, pumped thousands of hands, accepted hundreds of 'rapturous' welcomes.... Yet he comes here with the enthusiasm of a freshman President who in some previous avatar was a confirmed India-lover. If the charm offensive is indeed synthetic, a piece of deft public relations, some sharp salesman trying to be extra smart in order to sell Coke and Boeing and Enron, the performance is even more astonishing since the mask never seems to fall. If it is acting, it is an Academy Award-winning performance.

On the other hand, it is possible Bill Clinton has genuine admiration and affection for the country he is visiting. His address to both houses of Parliament contains so many gushing references to Indian democracy and the civilisation which nurtured it that at first glance, the succession of compliments seem part of a carefully planned hoax. Happily, the opposite is true. This lame-duck American President seems an unabashed fan of India and it is more than possible that he has laid the foundations of a new relationship which, hopefully, buries three decades of rancour and suspicion.