Having shown courage by welcoming George W. Bush and cutting a landmark strategic deal with him, PM Singh is trying to appease his unhappy Muslim constituents by appealing to their most fanatical members. He stooped to"delaying" the visit of Danish PM Rasmussen to India. Radha Kumar writes:

Whatever happened to the steely resolve with which the Indian government pushed ahead, in the teeth of stiff opposition, with the nuclear deal? It appears to have vanished in the case of the Danish prime minister’s proposed visit. . . .

This capitulation on the Rasmussen visit is a shot in the arm for an intolerant minority among Muslims and the vested political interests who fanned the flames of unrest in the first instance. It would be a singular disservice to the Muslim community to surmise that it rose as a body to protest against the cartoons in an obscure Danish paper. It was only after unscrupulous politicians, notably a UP minister who placed a Rs 51-crore bounty on the head of the cartoonist, that things took an ugly turn. Merged with protests over the Bush visit, the unrest assumed larger-than-life dimensions.

How perceptive and how true. If only the rest of the Indian MSM followed suit.

Having no more regard for the rights which make their existence possible than the American MSM, the Times of India is cheering:

In view of the inflamed passions, the Indian government has wisely asked Rasmussen to stay away. While this might appear to be pandering to fundamentalist forces, the government move is pragmatic.

It is far more important to safeguard the interests and sentiments of India's Muslim minority than to host the Danish PM. While no one can foresee what would have happened if Rasmussen came to India, it is best to assume the worst-case scenario.

AND covering up for the Islamist would be beheaders:

In India, too, there have been several protests against the cartoons, with a misguided Uttar Pradesh minister even announcing a bounty for the cartoonist's (unaware that there was not one but many cartoonists) head.

Does the misguided refer to the announcement of the bounty or merely to the announcement of a single bounty?

Other Indian papers focus on the diplomatic cover up. Hindustan Times notes:

The Indian government diplomatically dissuaded Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen from visiting India around the end of this month, saying the controversy surrounding the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed would overshadow the visit.

Rasmussen's visit had been proposed by Denmark"well before" the controversy over the cartoons erupted worldwide. After protests erupted in India and other countries in the region -- even causing the deaths of four persons in Lucknow -- it was not deemed wise to go ahead with the visit.

Sources say the issue did not cause a diplomatic incident bilaterally, and it became easier to call off the visit because it had not actually been announced. Copenhagen sent word that Rasmussen would now visit at a more mutually convenient time.

I feel sad for the Danes. They are learning to play the game Israel has played for so long. It is covering up for cowards.