Maybe that is the only way the hurt inflicted on the Indian psyche can be assuaged
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna lost no time in expressing his outrage over Shah Rukh Khans detention at an American airport. He condemned the US action in no uncertain terms,and insisted that this strategy of detention and apology,which his office called mechanical,could not continue. Shah Rukh himself managed to joke about it,but the government made up for his relative equanimity with a remarkably over-the-top reaction. The external affairs ministry wants the ambassador,Nirupama Rao,to take the issue up with US officials.
Indeed,Indian officialdom has been so quick to take umbrage whenever those considered consequential are pulled over at US airports for additional screening that its responses may be considered more mechanical than Washingtons apology. Those previously inconvenienced by the Americans stringent airport security include actor Irrfan,former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam,former ambassador Meera Shankar and,yes,King Khan himself.
The firestorm that erupted after Shah Rukh was detained in 2009 even led to Iamp;B Minister Ambika Soni calling for a tit-for-tat treatment. Will detaining Angelina Jolie surely the only American star as beloved by and reviled in the popular press as Shah Rukh is assuage the hurt inflicted on the collective consciousness of the Indian authorities? Perhaps it might be necessary to detain George Clooney,or Ryan Gosling,indefinitely to soothe frayed nerves? Thousands of people are routinely pulled aside for additional screening at airports. Its really nothing personal.