The Government of India has given a tough reply to the world's most powerful country by taking a series of steps to review the extraordinary privileges that the US embassy and its staff in India enjoy. The move comes in the wake of the deliberate insult to an Indian diplomat in the US, Ms Devyani Khobragade, who was handcuffed, strip-searched, DNA-tested and even subjected to the otherwise rare cavity-search, before being detained with criminals.
But even the firm steps New Delhi has taken are not enough. What was done to Ms Khobragade was a violation of human rights, of which the US needs to be ashamed. India should approach that country's human rights organisation with a complaint. An apology from the US with a written assurance that such acts will not be repeated, is needed. This alone will satisfy the people of India. It is absolutely clear that the US has acted in the way it did to belittle our country.