— PHOTO: AP

COUNTERING TERROR: British Prime Minister Tony Blair (centre left row) and his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh (centre right row), participating in talks at 10 Downing Street in London on Tuesday. The Prime Ministers agreed on the need for a coherent global effort to tackle international terrorism.

LONDON: A soft re-launch of the controversial "India shining" campaign, some wondered? Or, just another mandatory pitch for the emerging "new" India on foreign soil?

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not given to hyperbole and, even at his eloquent best, is a man of few words. But on Monday he pulled out all stops while portraying India as a country where unprecedented economic growth, combined with a "massive" programme of social justice, had set the tone for what he described as one of the "most far-reaching revolutions of this century."

Dr. Singh was addressing some of Britain's most powerful Indians at a reception hosted by India's High Commissioner to the U.K. Kamalesh Sharma at his luxurious residence at Kensington Palace Gardens where his neighbours include the billionaire steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.

Inside the hot and humid marquee packed with businesspersons, bureaucrats, political wannabes, journalists and a sprinkling of writers and artists, the atmosphere could pass for an Indian monsoon wedding down to kurtas and cholis. As a nod to egalitarianism, there was no high table but the rich and the famous — Mittal, Swraj Paul, Naresh Goyal, M.F. Husain, Vikram Seth — tended to gravitate towards each other. And the rest towards them.

The Prime Minister's brief speech was described by one guest as a "hymn" to India and Indians. India, he said, was a country on the "move" and its "buoyancy" and "vitality" was a tribute to its people whether they lived at home or had chosen to settle abroad.

"A new India is emerging," Dr. Singh declared and invited Britain's Indian community to participate in "this great adventure of creativity and enterprise in whatever way you can.''

In remarks echoing his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tribute to the Indian diaspora, when he visited Britain a few years ago, Dr. Singh said they were a "shining example" of Indian values of "coexistence and tolerance." Indians were among the most well established communities abroad and an "enormous asset" to the countries of their adoption, he said. They were not only successful but had integrated well into the host societies. And India was "proud" of them.

Dr. Singh's parting message to non-resident Indians was to be "loyal" to their adopted country but keep "a place in their hearts" for India. This was not something he had thought up on his feet but, as he noted, it was a quote from Jawaharlal Nehru.

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