Which couldn’t be better news. Despite the attack in Mumbai, the BJP’s anti-Muslim ranting didn’t get as many votes as it used to, and the BJP got blanked in Tamil Nadu despite its attempt to exploit resentment against Sri Lanka. And the four Communist parties that broke with Congress over the nuclear deal with the U.S. all got skunked.
Not only does this mean that Singh can keep right on making India rich, it means that he’s in a position to do a deal with Pakistan, something the U.S. really needs to happen. Credit the Bush Administration for warming up the relationship with India, reversing a Cold-War-era legacy policy of tilting toward Pakistan.
Now the two key words are “textiles” and “Kashmir.”