Yawn, It Was A Sleep Year

Which in turn means that the interim foreign minister of India could well morph into the regular foreign minister. The PM would probably want to lead from the front on the two dominant policy themes: the wooing of America and the peace process with Pakistan. In the case of George Bush, we have handed over the dowry without having got married; and there is a chance that he might demand nuptial rights during his visit to India in 2006 without showing us a marriage licence. Manmohan Singh has been far more circumspect with Pakistan, which is wise; but there will be pressure to accelerate, for Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has a potential deadline: 2007, when he is expected to take off his uniform. He will seek a definitive agreement on the way forward on Kashmir before that.

2005 was the gap year between 2004 and 2006. The government did not quite go on a year's holiday (although some MP should ask a question about the collective travel itinerary of Bharat Sarkar), but it did take time off to enjoy the lottery win of 2004. That is human and perfectly understandable. But a gap is followed by three years of purposeful work, or you fail. The countdown begins on January 1, 2006.