I usually avoid writing about what politicians say or do because, like a few million Indians, I don't take them very seriously. I would if they were to spend a little more time in school, of course, or offer us signs of intelligence more often, but they rarely do, so I tend to dismiss their pronouncements as little more than minor irritants.

One thing said by our minister for external affairs earlier this month caught my eye though. She was referring to the diaspora community and praised them for changing the world's perception about Indians.