VZCZCXRO3489
PP RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHNEH
DE RUEHNE #2941/01 3231032
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181032Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4255
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 1283
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 3826
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 3066
RUEHNEH/AMCONSUL HYDERABAD
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1654
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 5453
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 2116
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 9083
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 2884
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 5496
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 7142
RHOVVKG/COMSEVENTHFLT
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 002941 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NP, AC, PM 
 
STATE FOR INR/MR 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO 
 
STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU 
 
STATE FOR AID/APRE-A 
 
USDOC FOR 4530/IEP/ANESA/OSA FOR BILL MURPHY 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL IN
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: GLOBAL WARMING / ENVIRONMENT, G-20 
MEET IN WASHINGTON, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: OBAMA'S 
VICTORY, AFGHANISTAN, GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS; NEW DELHI. 
 
This cable reports on relevant media reaction from 
India's large non-English press. Embassy New Delhi 
reports on English-language media via email in the daily 
"Early Edition."  USG customers please write to Geeta 
Krishali (KrishaliG@state.gov) to subscribe to the "Early 
Edition." 
 
---------------------------- 
GLOBAL WARMING / ENVIRONMENT 
---------------------------- 
 
¶1. "CLOUDS OF DANGER," editorial in November 17 right-of- 
center DAINIK JAGRAN Hindi daily: "With the winters' 
starting in the Asian countries the air turns into a 
thick layer of pollution. This atmospheric brown cloud 
hanging over major Asian cities is a serious threat to 
the environment. These countries cannot get away with 
their responsibility saying that it is a local and 
seasonal process because it is increasing risks to human 
health and food production. India should take strict 
measures to rectify the reasons of environmental 
pollution... It is a result of burning of fossil fuels and 
biomass. 
There is no doubt that the Western countries are refusing 
to complete their responsibilities to reduce the risk of 
global warming. But India also needs to own up its 
responsibility." 
 
----------------------- 
G-20 MEET IN WASHINGTON 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. "MANMOHAN IN G-20," editorial in November 17 right-of- 
center AMAR UJALA Hindi daily: "The world leaders have 
agreed on some of the major points raised by Indian Prime 
Minister Manmohan Singh at the G-20 summit. The major 
countries should come forward with financial packages to 
tackle the current economic crisis. Since the IMF and 
World Bank are also running out of resources, firstly, 
these financial institutions need to be supported. 
Protectionist tendencies should be avoided. Developing 
countries are paying a heavy price in this ongoing global 
crisis, triggered by the developed nations. Thus, the 
growth prospects of the developing countries should not 
be hampered. The solution of this problem lies in the 
developed nations' helping the developing countries by 
strengthening their own economies." 
 
¶3. "INDIA EFFECTIVE IN THE G-20 SUMMIT: TAKES U.S. TO 
TASK" editorial in the November 18, 2008, Mumbai edition 
of centrist Marathi daily LOKMAT. ".... Not only did the 
balance of power shift in favor of emerging economies in 
the recently-concluded G-20 Summit, but the summit was an 
opportunity for India to consolidate its position. At the 
very beginning of the summit, India dared to tell the 
U.S. some known but bitter truths about the current 
global economic crisis. The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India 
and China) nations issued a joint statement demanding a 
bigger role in shaping the new global financial 
architecture. They sought the urgent expansion of the 
 
NEW DELHI 00002941  002 OF 004 
 
 
Financial Stability Forum (FSF) to give it a broader 
membership. India, China and Brazil will now join the FSF 
board, the global economic policy powerhouse, which to 
date has been the bastion of the G-8... One cannot conclude 
that all proposals aimed at restoring global growth and 
preventing future financial upheaval will be immediately 
put into practice, but one can see the foundation of a 
new world order..." 
Similar editorials appeared in the November 18, 2008, 
Mumbai edition of Marathi daily LOKSATTA and AAPLA 
MAHANAGAR. 
 
¶4. "ECONOMIC DISTURBANCE AND RECESSION" editorial in the 
November 18, 2008 Mumbai-based right-of-center Gujarati 
daily MUMBAI SAMACHAR.  "Nothing concrete emerged from 
the just concluded G-20 meeting of the world's most 
powerful nation states.  Whatever suggestions that were 
made seemed superficial without any collective tangible 
solution to overcome the global recession.  The need of 
the hour for the big and affluent nations is to shed 
protectionist approach and embrace liberalization in true 
sense.  The reason that affluent nations are more 
affected by global recession is because these nations 
have accumulated all the affluence over the years.  The 
less affluent nations will be least affected as their 
wealth accumulation is limited....  There can't be a single 
solution to this crisis.  There is a difference between 
wealthy, and poor and weak nations.  Comparing them in 
the light of global recession is inappropriate....  As far 
as the question of recession is concerned, it will wane 
automatically once the exploited wealth is released...." 
 
 
------------------------------------------- 
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: OBAMA'S VICTORY 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. "BARACK OBAMA: A DEMOCRATIC FAIRY TALE," editorial- 
page article in November 18 independent Kolkata Bengali 
daily, ANANDABAZAR PATRIKA by Professor Maitreesh Ghatak, 
London School of Economics (LSE).  "The first noticeable 
thing is that Obama did not get majority White votes. 
Then has he won the election with the votes of the young 
generation as well as of people belonging to the socially 
and economically backward sections? The simple answer is: 
Yes. But these classes have traditionally been supporters 
of the Democrats. The good news is that some Republican 
supporters, either getting mesmerized by Obama's 
personality or becoming frustrated with the current 
national situation voted for Obama. They were larger in 
numbers. Obama also managed to get huge votes from the 
moderates as well as from the conservatives. So, the 
support for Obama did not come merely from the youth and 
the minority community. The White votes also contributed 
significantly toward his victory. However, that is lesser 
in comparison to that of new voters, the youth, and the 
non-Whites. It was not only the Blacks but Obama inspired 
people belonging to all minority communities to come 
forward and cast their votes." 
 
 
NEW DELHI 00002941  003 OF 004 
 
 
¶6. "OBAMA REGIME AND INDO-U.S. RELATIONS" op-ed article 
by columnist Hasan Kamal in right-of-center Urdu daily 
HAMARA SAMAJ, New Delhi: "Barack Obama's stand on Kashmir 
is causing concern for India. George W. Bush always kept 
the Kashmir issue off, and never intervened into the 
matter except saying that the issue should be resolved 
through bilateral negotiations between India and 
Pakistan. India has always considered Kashmir a bilateral 
issue of the two countries with a crystal clear stand 
that any third party intervention would never be 
acceptable to it. Although Obama's top most priority, 
now, would be to pull his nation out of severe financial 
crisis but this is not sure that he will forget Kashmir. 
However we have to cautiously see what comes ahead." 
 
----------- 
AFGHANISTAN 
----------- 
 
¶7. "DOMESTIC PROBLEM," editorial in November 18 
independent Kolkata Bengali daily, ANANDABAZAR PATRIKA. 
"Let us hope that the next U.S. President-elect does not 
see foreign policy merely as war and air strikes and that 
he will have faith in diplomacy too. Time has not come to 
say that nothing can be achieved by increasing 
international awareness as well as by enhancing pressure 
through the UN, and by formulating a resistance policy 
with the help of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The 
world, especially the Middle East and South Asia hold 
high expectations that along with addressing the U.S.- 
sparked global melt down, Obama will try to 
multilaterally tackle the Afghan problem from the very 
beginning." 
 
----------------------- 
GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS 
----------------------- 
 
¶8. "MANMOHAN SINGH'S PERPLEXITY," editorial in the 
November 18, 2008 CPI(M) Organ GANASHAKTI Bengali daily, 
Kolkata. "Following resistance by the Leftists, the 
Manmohan Singh government failed to adopt necessary steps 
toward privatization of the Banking and the insurance 
sectors as well as the pension scheme and releasing 
provident fund money to the stock market. The arguments 
put forwarded by the Prime Minister and by the Finance 
Minister in favor of India's relatively comfortable 
position even in the midst of the current global meltdown 
owed its success to the Leftists. Succinctly, the 
Leftists can claim success for the comparative reprieve 
that India got in this critical situation. Had the UPA 
government carried out economic reforms according to its 
own whims, India would now have met with the same fate as 
that of the U.S. But Manmohan Singh cannot acknowledge 
the Leftists' success as that that will amount to 
conceding his own failures and also that will politically 
bankrupt the Congress Party. Since parliamentary election 
is round the corner Singh is now desperately trying to 
save himself and his party. So, most irresponsibly he 
still continues to argue in favor of economic 
 
NEW DELHI 00002941  004 OF 004 
 
 
liberalization. The Congress Party will certainly lose 
its ground if the masses realize the genuineness of the 
Leftist stand on the economic issues." 
WHITE