5 min readFeb 22, 2026 07:25 AM IST
First published on: Feb 22, 2026 at 07:25 AM IST
The publication of the banquet menu at Rashtrapati Bhavan for the President of Seychelles has triggered a debate as to whether it is appropriate for the Indian government to serve distinguished foreign visitors fanciful but sparse vegetarian fare only. Confirming a senior journalist’s claim that visiting dignitaries routinely return from banquets at Rashtrapati Bhavan and Hyderabad House and order food at their hotels, Mahua Moitra claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron requested bread, cheese and cold cuts in his room after a G20 summit banquet highlighting millets (bajra). Should good hosts impose their dietary fancies on their guests? And is it smart diplomacy to send our foreign guests home on an empty stomach? Those accustomed to hearty meals of roasts, steaks, pies, and a succession of succulent dishes find the airy-fairy, nouvelle cuisine vegetarian fare served of late at our official banquets hard to swallow. (Even vegetarians complain of the unfamiliar dishes.) At the Seychelles president’s dinner, the main course was simply potatoes cooked Gujarati style, roasted brinjals, spiced paneer and mushrooms. Descriptions of pickles were included in the menu card to disguise the paucity of dishes. The menu writer waxed even more eloquent for the AI Summit dinner hosted by the PM last week, where the main course of rajma, chawal and bajra was described in lyrical language!
The late foreign correspondent M V Kamath had traced Richard Nixon’s animosity towards India to an indifferent vegetarian meal hosted by Morarji Desai when Desai was finance minister and Nixon out of power. Nixon was to compare the spartan Indian meal most unfavourably with the lavish spreads laid out for him in Pakistan. It is pertinent to point out that normally foreign governments courteously offer vegetarian options for Indian guests, but also keep the tastes of other diners in mind. As the old proverb goes, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
Wrestling debate
When Rahul Gandhi began his Lok Sabha speech on the Budget, the faces of senior Congress leaders reflected their anxiety. Instead of taking up the topic at hand, Gandhi began with a discourse on the martial arts. Congress MPs were relieved to discover that their unorthodox leader was explaining about jiu-jitsu grips, chokes, taps and surrender as an analogy to the alleged stranglehold of the US government over Prime Minister Modi. Gandhi does not hide his love for the martial arts. In January, at a closed door training camp in Kurukshetra, Haryana, Gandhi, wearing traditional judo gear, was accompanied by his professional instructor. Both exhibited some agile manoeuvres for the stunned audience of district Congress committee chiefs and party functionaries. Gandhi explained that in politics, if the opponent tries to overpower and pin them down, they should tactfully keep rolling out without allowing the enemy to overpower them. His message was that those who master martial arts emerge stronger in politics. Last year, Rahul informed a senior leader that he was planning martial arts camps for teenagers in major cities. Some party leaders view the proposal as a smart move to galvanise youth and counter RSS training camps. But sceptics question whether politics and jiu-jitsu are in fact an ideal match.
Mysterious support
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma was pulled up by the BJP high command for the AI generated video on X showing Sarma targeting Muslims. As damage control, the Assam BJP media co-convenor was sacked and the party chief spokesperson in Delhi disowned the post. The central leadership’s rebuke of one of its favourite CMs was more about electoral concerns than ethics. BJP election strategists apprehended that the offending video could result in the state’s approximately 36% Muslims uniting in backing the Congress to defeat the BJP. Interestingly, post the video, four teams of maulanas have visited Muslim dominated areas in Assam. Their theme is that if Asaduddin Owaisi could successfully mobilise minority votes in Maharashtra and Bihar, an Assamese Muslim leader could do the same in the state. Their message suggested that minorities should vote for Badruddin Ajmal, a Muslim businessman-politician accused of splitting the Muslim vote. Ajmal, however, while thanking the campaign teams for their efforts, claims he has no clue where his supporters originated.
Star envoy
He may be the newest arrival to New Delhi’s diplomatic corps, but the special treatment accorded to US ambassador Sergio Gor is marked. Gor hosted a party after his first month in India which was attended by both External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. Gor attended the US-India T20 cricket match as chief guest of ICC chairman Jay Shah and was escorted by RIL head Mukesh Ambani and wife Nita. His visit to the Army’s western command headquarters was widely reported and the presence of the accompanying US admiral was a mere aside.
