- India's former defence minister was twice strip-searched
at Washington airport while on official business, according to the former
US deputy secretary of state, Strobe Talbott.
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- George Fernandes appears to have quietly swallowed the
post-9/11 humiliation, recounting his experiences only in New Delhi this
February to a private US group that included Mr Talbott, who tells the
tale in a new book.
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- On an official US visit in 2002, and en route to Brazil
in 2003 - the ageing politician, who likes to wear a kurta (baggy long
shirt ), was strip-searched by US immigration.
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- "He seemed to enjoy our stupefaction at this tale,"
writes Mr Talbott. "He and other Indians who later referred to the
incident clearly regarded it as more than merely a lapse of protocol or
just another example of the post-9/11 excesses for the sake of security.
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- "They saw it as a symptom of a deep-rooted condescension,
or worse, on the part of the west toward the east."
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- Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
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