India Declares War on Italy!

Now that I have your attention, let me assure you that India is not actually declaring war on Italy.  Although the question of whether we should is a legitimate concern in the minds of several people.

For the unaware, here is the quick recap.  In 2012 two Italian marines protecting an Italian merchant ship from Captain Jack Sparrow, shot two innocent Indian fisherman off the coast of Kerela.  The Supreme Court of India ruled that India had jurisdiction in the case and placed the marines under arrest.  In December, at the behest of the Italian government, and the promise that the marines would return to India to stand trial, the two marines were sent home to vote in the general elections and spend Christmas with their families.  But, here's the kicker.  The marines didn't come back.  

The Italian government is now contesting the Supreme Court ruling on the grounds that the shooting happened in International waters which is beyond the Indian government's jurisdiction.  Call it bad faith or simply lying, the Indian government was stunned at the turn of events, especially in the light of recent events involving in a billion dollar corruption scam with the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AugustaWestland.

So what does our beloved UPA government led by, and here's where the irony comes in, led by an Italian (read: Sonia Gandhi), do?  Simple, bar the Italian ambassador from leaving the country.  Meanwhile, the two marines are given a hero's welcome! Cool, so what happens now?  We await with bated breath.  Good thing Italy doesn't have nuclear weapons, eh?  

Perhaps on the good news... which we have so little of these days, India was not ranked as the rudest country in the world to tourists!  You may not agree with the ranking, but makes interesting reading.  Ironic that the Americans are writing an article on rudeness!