HONG KONG -- When Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, following in the footsteps of Jawaharlal Nehru, spoke from the great gateway of Shah Jehan's Red Fort to celebrate Independence Day, he looked like a tiny, almost insignificant figure, framed by gigantic red sandstone walls, as he looked down on the throng below.
That's appropriate, since he is a slight figure with probably the most difficult task in the world -- dragging and cajoling India into the 21st century. But is he the one person in 1.1 billion who can do for India what leader Deng Xiaoping did for China? He can certainly claim to be making a better attempt than any of his predecessors.
Nevertheless, he is under fire from outside India for being too timid a reformer and, from inside, for giving too many privileges to foreigners. He has plenty of critics inside the ruling Congress Party who would rather see Sonia Gandhi, the latest scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, take over.