Political India: Engaging America

December 13, 2013: The Hindu learns of Ms. Khobragade's conditions of bail from the SDNY, the plaintiff in the criminal case against the Indian diplomat. No luck yet reaching the attorneys of the domestic worker, Sangeeta Richard, allegedly defrauded of her dues by Khobragade: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/diplomat-had-to-pay-250000-bond/article5456731.ece

December 13, 2013: The Hindu speaks with Ms. Khobragade's father, Mumbai-based former bureaucrat Uttam, whose early comments cast doubt on whether, as many were already arguing, the Deputy Consul General had been handcuffed. That allegation was later described as false, by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/domestic-assistant-had-no-complaints-earlier-says-diplomats-father/article5456905.ece

December 13, 2013: The Hindu gets the first official reaction of the State Department on the matter of whether Ms. Khobragade's consular immunity granted vide the 1963 Vienna Convention protected her from personal acts. Answer: No. http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/consular-immunity-doesnt-cover-personal-acts-state-department/article5457356.ece

December 14, 2013: The Hindu speaks with Daniel Arshack, Ms. Khobragade's attorney, who offers further clarifications on the conditions of her release and bail and also on her treatment during the arrest. He says that although she was “treated incredibly shabbily” and was not presented with the opportunity to surrender, he was “confident of her complete vindication.” Meanwhile Indian officials give the U.S. a "strong demarche." http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-reiterates-objections-to-diplomats-treatment/article5459582.ece

December 16, 2013: Meanwhile as India comes to grips with the arrest, a sense of outrage spreads through the establishment and visiting U.S. Congressional heads are snubbed. Simultaneously reports start surfacing that Ms. Khobragade was strip-searched while in the custody of U.S. Marshals: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/speaker-cancels-meeting-with-us-congressional-team-over-envoy-arrest/article5467236.ece

December 16, 2013: As outrage mounts and allegations, some apparently deliberately misleading, start to fly about, The Hindu clarifies some important facts on the accuracy 'strip-search' reports, the question of consular immunity and the circumstances of Ms. Khobragade's arrest: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/doubt-hangs-over-conditions-of-indian-diplomats-detention/article5467249.ece

December 17, 2013: Cognisant of the intricacies of multi-agency operations in such cases, here involving the State and Justice Departments and the U.S. Marshals Service, the State Department takes a cautious approach to judging how Ms. Khobragade was treated during her detention. If only others were as circumspect! http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/us-looking-into-arrest-procedures/article5471102.ece

December 17, 2013: After the State Department refers us to the U.S. Marshals Service on what happened to Ms. Khobragade while she was in detention, and the USMS simply referenced its standard protocols, The Hindu sought to fill this important blank spot in knowledge by getting deeper into these protocols: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/detention-procedures-applicable-to-khobragade-us-clarifies/article5473109.ece

December 18, 2013: Even as India undertakes strong retaliatory measures, including removing protective barriers at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, U.S. Secretary of State seeks to de-escalate the crisis with an expression of regret. Meanwhile more attention focuses on Ms. Khobragade's treatment and reaction in New York: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/issue-must-not-be-allowed-to-hurt-ties/article5476892.ece

December 19, 2013: After a week of intense, fast-paced developments, multiple statements and diplomatic repartee, The Hindu parses the two broad narratives that have emerged, with a generous helping of factual recount thrown in, in the interest of clarity and balance. Context on the U.S.' fight against human trafficking-related crime is provided too: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/laffair-khobragade-a-tale-of-two-narratives/article5479354.ece

December 19 2013: Facts are important. In his statement on Wednesday evening Mr. Bharara refutes the claim, made by so many (and questioned by The Hindu on December 13), that Ms. Khobragade was handcuffed upon arrest: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/prosecutor-denies-devyani-was-handcuffed/article5480186.ece 

December 19, 2013: Finally, a week after Ms. Khobragade's arrest the story of her alleged victim, Ms. Richard, starts to get told. The Hindu adds information on legal precedents in the U.S.' fight in 'maid abuse' cases: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/devyani-grossly-underpaid-domestic-worker-say-lawyers/article5478013.ece

December 19, 2013: Although India's Ministry of External Affairs was trying to be creative in having Ms. Khobragade reassigned to the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations (with full diplomatic immunity) the State Department (which has to sign off on any potential transfer) pours cold water on that prospect: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/us-says-un-immunity-for-khobragade-not-retroactive/article5481901.ece

December 19, 2013: Even as Indian leaders are quoted calling for the charges against Ms. Khobragade to be dropped after Secretary Kerry expressed regret, the State Department makes clear that that is unlikely and stands in solidarity with Mr. Bharara's office: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/us-rules-out-dropping-charges-against-khobragade/article5482080.ece