Wanted: A head for India House

LONDON, July 31: The clouds of uncertainty over the appointment of the new Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom is telling upon...

LONDON, July 31: The clouds of uncertainty over the appointment of the new Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom is telling upon the functioning of the commission, particularly at a time when Indo-British relations are passing through a delicate phase after the Pokhran nuclear tests.

The work at the headless commission8217;-India House-in London, has come to a standstill, says a senior official of the high commission.

The officials at the high commission expressed concern over not only the sudden departure of Salman Haidar, India8217;s last high commissioner to the United Kingdom but also the delay in naming the new incumbent.

8220;We are not concerned whether the appointment is political, which obviously cannot be avoided in a democratic setup. But there should not be any vacuum,8221;they felt.

8220;The continuity8217; at the high office of the commission, which once eluded the London-based Pakistan high commission, is now missing in our functioning8221;, they say.

The officials favoured 8220;stability8221; both athome political stability at the Union Government level and abroad in offices of diplomats, which is vital for bolstering relations between India and other countries, particularly the developed countries.

8220;The tenure of diplomats should not necessarily be co-terminus with that of the popular government at home8221;, they said.

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Though the usual term of the Indian high commissioner was two years, they observed that the longer the stay of a 8220;capable and keen8221; diplomat, the better it was for the interest of the country. In this context, they cited the contribution of L M Singhvi in ushering in an era of strong Indo-British relationship during his seven-year stint in London. Even as British Foreign Secratary Robin Cook8217;s remarks at a recent NRI gathering, criticising India for its recent nuclear tests, continued to be debated in a certain section of Indian people of Indian origin here, the officials felt that this 8220;embarrasment8221; could have been avoided if we had high commisioner to remove the misgivingsof the British authorities over the latest nuclear tests.