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Indian prime minister’s visit

A strategic and global partnershipYasuo FukudaPRESIDENT, JAPAN-INDIA

PARLIAMENTARIANS’ FRIENDSHIP LEAGUE,

FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN

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On behalf of the Japan-IndiaParliamentarians’ Friend-ship League, I would like toextend our hos-pitality andwarm wel -come to PrimeMinister Dr.M a n m o h a nSingh of Indiaon the occasionof his visit toJapan.

Japan and India have con-tinued to enjoy friendly rela-tions founded on a long histo-ry of exchanges. In particu-lar, in recent years theJapan-India Strategic andGlobal Partnership marks astrengthening of bilateralties, and leaders of eachcountry have made annualvisits since 2005. It is with

great pleasure that I makenote of the recent welcomingof Dr. Singh by the Japanesegovernment as proof of theclose relations between thetwo countries.

We believe that we aregrowing deeper, strengthen-ing cooperation in the fieldsof politics as well as peaceand security through the im-plementation of the actionplan formulated in Decem-ber 2009, based on the jointdeclaration that had beenagreed upon with Dr. Singhin his previous visit to Japanback in October 2008.

In the field of economics, aJapan-India comprehensiveEconomic PartnershipAgreement (EPA) will con-tribute to the further devel-opment of both countries’economies and the strength-ening of economic ties be-tween them. In addition, bothcountries have made firmcommitments to U.N. Securi-

ty Council reform, and onglobal issues such as climatechange and biodiversity.

Along with the strengthen-ing of such political and eco-nomic relationships, we lookforward to a greater numberof interpersonal exchangesat all levels, deepening ourfriendly relations and mutu-al trust through the genuineinterest held by citizens ofboth countries.

In this way, Japan and In-dia still have the potential tostrengthen and expand coop-eration in partnerships inmany more areas. It is myfirm belief that Dr. Singh’sarrival in Japan will promotethe further strengthening ofbilateral relations betweenJapan and India.

May I take this opportuni-ty to reiterate my sincerestwelcome to Dr. Singh and tosend my best wishes for thecontinued development ofour friendly relations.

Long history of mutually beneficial relationsPrime Minister of IndiaDr. Manmohan Singh is on athree-day (Oct. 24 to 26) visit toJapan as a guest of the govern-ment of Japan under the officialworking visit program tostrengthen the friendly rela-tions between Japan and India.

The prime minister flew intoTokyo on Oct. 24, accompaniedby his wife, Gursharan Kaur,and a high-level delegation.

On Oct. 25, Prime MinisterSingh is scheduled to have anaudience with Emperor Akihitoand Empress Michiko, followedby a meeting with his Japanesecounterpart, Naoto Kan.

This trip marks Dr. Singh’sfourth visit to Japan as primeminister, following an officialvisit in December 2006; a tripto attend the outreach sessionof the G-8 summit at Toyako,Hokkaido, in July 2008; and hislast official visit in October2008. On each visit, Dr. Singhhas met a different prime min-ister: Shinzo Abe in 2006; Ya-suo Fukuda in July 2008; TaroAso in Oct. 2008; and nowPrime Minister Kan.

HistoryExchanges between Japan andIndia are said to have begun inthe sixth century when Bud-dhism was introduced to Japan.Indian culture, filtered throughBuddhism, has had a great im-pact on Japanese culture andthis is the source of the Japa-nese people’s sense of closenessto India.

In 1949, Indian Prime Minis-ter Jawaharlal Nehru donatedtwo Indian elephants to the Ue-no Zoo in Tokyo. This brought aray of light into the lives of theJapanese people who still hadnot recovered from defeat inWorld War II. Japan and Indiasigned a peace treaty and es-tablished diplomatic relationson April 28, 1952. This treatywas one of the first peace trea-ties Japan signed after theWorld War II.

Ever since the establishmentof diplomatic relations, the twocountries have enjoyed cordialrelations. In the post-WorldWar II period, India’s iron oreCONTINUED ON PAGE 6

India’s rapid economic growth benefits the world economyYoshiro MoriCHAIRMAN, JAPAN-INDIA ASSOCIATION,

FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN

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On behalf of the Japan-IndiaAssociation, which has workedfor 107 years forJapan-India re-lations, I extendour most heart-felt welcome toH.E. Dr. Man-mohan Singh,prime ministerof India.

Dr. Singh is not only the ar-chitect of today’s emerging In-dia but also a great statesman,most respected both in Indiaand the world. Japan is privi-leged to have a best friend andpro-Japanese statesman inthe person of Dr. Singh.

Since Dr. Singh came to Ja-pan in 1991 as finance ministerto save India from the brink ofa foreign currency crisis, hehas successively worked hardto change India into a rapidlygrowing, market-driven, less-regulated and more-global-ized economy.

Prime Minister Singh up-graded the Japan-India Glob-al Partnership that I had in-augurated in August 2000with Prime Minister A.B.Vajpeey, his predecessor, upto the level of Strategic andGlobal Partnership jointlywith Prime Minister Junichi-ro Koizumi, my successor.

India’s rapid economicgrowth attracts attentionand admiration from bothwithin and without India and

benefits enormously ourglobal economy. In my view,though, India’s rise in theworld in political and strate-gic areas is no less remark-able, and all democratic andpeace-loving nations, includ-ing Japan, feel assured thatthe biggest democracy in theworld occupies a geopoliti-cally important place in Eur-asia facing critical sea lanesin the Indian Ocean.

Japan and India now enjoythe most cordial and friendlyrelationship and work for thebest interests of our twocountries. The flows of peo-ple and business are multi-plied, and yet not to our po-tentials. Under the guidanceand leadership of Dr. Singh,we will be able to conclude an

Economic PartnershipAgreement, speed up theDelhi-Mumbai IndustrialCorridor and DedicatedFreight Corridor projects,conclude a civil nuclear co-operation agreement, accel-erate investment both waysand promote scientific, tech-nological and cultural ex-changes.

We are also endeavoringto join our resources — polit-ical, economic and human —to contribute to the solutionof important internationaland regional agendas suchas international terrorismand piracy, the nonprolifera-tion of weapons of mass de-struction, the reform of theUnited Nations SecurityCouncil and climate change.

It is my earnest hope thatPrime Minister Singh andPrime Minister Naoto Kanwill deepen mutual confi-dence and friendship, there-by leading our two peoples tomuch closer and mutuallybeneficial relations in allspheres that concern us.

I am firmly convincedthat, in addition to the sum-mit meeting with Prime Min-ister Kan, Prime MinisterSingh’s audience with HisMajesty the Emperor Akihi-to and his meeting with polit-ical and business leaders ofJapan will enhance the al-ready cordial relations intothe year 2012, the 60th anni-versary of the establishmentof diplomatic relations be-tween Japan and India.

Brief overview of Prime Minister Singh’s career

Dr. Manmohan Singh, India’s 14th prime minister,is widely respected as a thinker and scholar, andfor his diligence and academic approach, as wellas his accessibility and unassuming demeanor.

Prime Minister Singh was born Sept. 26, 1932,in a village in the Punjab Province of undividedIndia. Dr. Singh completed his matriculationexaminations from Punjab University in 1948. Hisacademic career took him from Punjab to theUniversity of Cambridge, where he earned afirst-class honors degree in economics in 1957.

Dr. Singh followed this with a D.Phil. ineconomics from Nuffield College, Oxford, in 1962.His book, ‘‘India’s Export Trends and Prospectsfor Self-Sustained Growth’’ (Clarendon Press,Oxford, 1964), was an early critique of India’sinward-oriented trade policy.

Dr. Singh’s academic credentials wereburnished by the years he spent on the faculty ofPunjab University and the prestigious DelhiSchool of Economics. He had a brief stint at theUNCTAD Secretariat as well during these years.This presaged a subsequent appointment assecretary general of the South Commission inGeneva between 1987 and 1990.

In 1971, Dr. Singh joined the government of

India as an economic adviser in the CommerceMinistry. This was soon followed by hisappointment as chief economic adviser in theMinistry of Finance in 1972. Among the manygovernment positions that Dr. Singh has occupiedare secretary in the Ministry of Finance, deputychairman of the Planning Commission, governorof the Reserve Bank of India, adviser to the primeminister and chairman of the University GrantsCommission.

In what was to become the turning point in theeconomic history of independent India, Dr. Singhspent five years between 1991 and 1996 as thecountry’s finance minister. His role in ushering in acomprehensive policy of economic reforms isrecognized worldwide. In the popular view ofthose years in India, the period is inextricablyassociated with the person of Dr. Singh.

In addition to the many awards and honorsconferred upon Dr. Singh, including India’ssecond-highest civilian honor, the PadmaVibhushan in 1987, he is the recipient of honorarydegrees from many universities, including Oxfordand Cambridge.

Dr. Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, havethree daughters.

Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh AP

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Indian prime minister’s visit

Tradition of bilateral visits continues

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helped Japan’s recovery fromthe devastation of war. Fol-lowing Japanese Prime Minis-ter Nobusuke Kishi’s visit toIndia in 1957, Japan startedproviding yen loans to India in1958, as the first yen loan aidextended by Japanese govern-ment. Since 1986, Japan hasbecome India’s largest aid do-nor and remains so.

Recent relationsPrime Minister Yoshiro Mo-ri’s visit to India in August 2000provided the momentum tostrengthen the Japan-India re-lationship. Since then, annualmeetings between prime min-isters have led to the establish-ment of the Strategic andGlobal Partnership betweenJapan and India as well as thefurther strengthening of thebilateral relationship. Mostrecently, during Prime Minis-ter Yukio Hatoyama’s visit toIndia in December 2009, Japanand India singed the JointStatement ‘‘New Stage of Ja-pan-India Strategic and Glob-al Partnership.’’

Security cooperationBoth countries have been con-ducting annual Foreign OfficeConsultations at the foreignsecretary level. The SecurityDialogue between the twocountries was set up in 2001

and six rounds of dialoguehave been conducted sincethen. During Prime MinisterSingh’s visit to Japan in 2008,the Joint Statement on securi-ty cooperation between Japanand India was issued. Further-more, an action plan to ad-vance security cooperationbased on the Joint Declarationon Security Cooperation be-tween Japan and India was is-sued during Hatoyama’s visitto India in 2009. The Japan-In-dia 2+2 Dialogue, which is theframework established basedon the agreement by the primeministers of both countries atthe Annual Summit in Decem-ber 2009, was held in New Del-hi in July 2010.

Economic relationsBilateral trade is expanding inthe recent years. However,the speed and scope of expan-sion are still limited. In De-cember 2006, the prime minis-ters of the two countries decid-ed to launch immediatenegotiations for the conclusionof a bilateral Economic Part-nership Agreement / Compre-hensive Economic Partner-ship Agreement, aiming tocomplete it in substance assoon as possible in approxi-mately two years. Thirteenrounds of negotiations havebeen held in New Delhi and To-kyo as of July 2010.

Japan regards India highlyHiromasa YonekuraCHAIRMAN, NIPPON KEIDANREN

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On behalf of Nippon Keidanren(Japan Business Federation),I would like to extend ourwarm welcometo H.E. Manmo-han Singh,prime ministerof India.

The India-Ja-pan bilateral re-lations have be-come strongerand closer in recent years. Es-pecially, our bilateral tradeand investment have seen re-markable growth. From 2008to 2009, the India-Japan tradetotaled $13 billion, an increaseof 28 percent from the previousyear. Japan’s foreign direct in-vestment (FDI) to India hassignificantly increased to ¥809billion from 2008 to 2009. Thescale of the investment, ex-ceeding the amount of Japan’sFDI to China, indicates the im-portance of the relations be-tween India and Japan.

The number of Japanese

companies operating in Indiahas reached 1,049, includingrepresentative offices, as ofOctober 2009. While most ofthese Japanese companies arefrom manufacturing indus-tries, financial service andmedical service firms have re-cently begun to set up opera-tions in India.

It is time for the businesssectors of the two countries tobuild on the momentum andstep up efforts to further ex-pand and strengthen India-Ja-pan business cooperation. Nip-pon Keidanren launched theJapan-India Business LeadersForum (JIBLF), in which Jap-anese and Indian businessleaders have called for accel-erating the Japan-India Com-prehensive Economic Partner-ship Agreement (JICEPA) ne-gotiations to promote bilateraltrade, investment and busi-nesses and build a mutuallybeneficial strategic economicrelationship between India andJapan.

To celebrate Prime MinisterSingh’s visit to Japan, Nippon

Keidanren holds the ThirdJIBLF on Oct. 25, hoping to wit-ness the long-awaited conclu-sion of the JICEPA.

In order to maintain itsstrong economic growth,which is estimated to reach anannual rate of 8 percent, it isessential for India to upgradeits infrastructure. Japan andIndia are working together onjoint initiatives for infrastruc-ture development, such as theDelhi-Mumbai Industrial Cor-ridor (DMIC) Project, and wethe Japanese business commu-nity are pleased to continue tosupport these collaborationsthrough public-private part-nerships.

Last but not least, on behalfof Nippon Keidanren, I wish toexpress our deep gratitude toDr. Singh for coming to Japan,and again, we are delightedand honored to welcome thePrime Minister. I sincerelyhope that this visit will be fruit-ful and rewarding and help tofurther deepen the friendshipand partnership between Indiaand Japan.

Dr. Singh helps effect global rise of modern India

Ryuko HiraHONORARY PRESIDENT, THE INDIAN

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

JAPAN TOKYO, THE INDIAN MERCHANTS

ASSOCIATION OF YOKOHAMA

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Dr. Manmohan Singh, India’s14th prime minister, a greatthinker and ascholar, isvisiting Japan.On behalf of allmembers ofThe IndianChamber ofCommerce andIndustry JapanTokyo (ICCJ) and The IndianMerchants Association ofYokohama (IMAY), I am deeplyhonored and privileged towelcome our Prime Minister toJapan.

Mahatma Gandhi liberated

India but Dr. Singh has beenrecognized worldwide in makingeconomic history for independentIndia by ushering acomprehensive policy ofeconomic reforms that has led tothe rise of contemporary India.

India’s unprecedented modelof true democracy contains amyriad of challenges. PrimeMinister Singh’s enduringprinciples and daringindomitable persistence toresolve each challenge hasimmensely contributed toIndia’s peace and promise ofprosperity to its masses.

The position in the world thatIndia holds today is due to thewide vision of Prime MinisterSingh, wisely foreseeing thefuture of India. He has guidedIndia toward extraordinaryeconomic growth during the

global recession, shapedinstitutions, inspired thoughtsand purposes toward achievingthe edification of the wholepopulace.

Transcending politics andeconomics the world leadershave honored the persona of Dr.Singh as an exemplarystatesman and a noble friend ofthe global community.

In this 90th year of thefounding of our Indianassociation we take thisopportunity to express oursincere gratitude to our primeminister for providing everyassistance and care to weoverseas Indians in Japan. Weat the ICCJ and IMAY extendour prime minister a heartfeltand warm welcome for a happy,memorable and successful visitto Japan.

Bilateral investment,trade relations surgeNobuo OhashiCHAIRMAN, THE JAPAN-INDIA BUSINESS

CO-OPERATION COMMITTEE

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On behalf of the Japan-IndiaBusiness Co-operation Com-mittee (JIBCC), it is my honorto extend mysincerest wel-come to H.E.Prime MinisterDr. ManmohanSingh on the oc-casion of hisvisit to Japan.

Then PrimeMinister Yukio Hatoyama’svisit to India last Decembershowcased strengthening Ja-pan-India relationships, par-ticularly since the two leadersagreed upon stronger bilater-al relations through the Ja-pan-India Strategic and Glob-al Partnership.

As a part of our strengthen-ing relations, we believe thataccelerating the occasion ofagreeing upon an EconomicPartnership Agreement(EPA) is a major goal, and weare proud to recognize that ba-sic agreements have beenreached this September. It iswith great happiness that werecognize Dr. Singh’s visit toJapan, which will surely deep-en our countries’ amicable andeconomic relationships.

Economic relations be-tween the countries haveseen a surge these past fewyears in spheres of both in-vestment and trade. We be-lieve that the establishmentof an EPA is vital toward anexpansion of trade betweenthe two nations and it is withsuch sentiments that the Jap-anese business communitylooks forward to an EPA be-ing reached quickly.

In addition, the JIBCCraised attention on large-scale projects such as the

Delhi-Mumbai IndustrialCorridor Project and the Del-hi-Mumbai Dedicated FrightCorridor at a joint committeeconference last December inDelhi. We extend our respectfor the Indian government,prefectural governments andcompanies involved for theirstrong motivation and hardwork in proceeding with therealization of these projects.The Japanese business com-munity, with the strong sup-port of both the Japanese andIndian governments as wellas affiliated institutions, isworking out technical detailsof the projects and all Japa-nese companies involvedwith this endeavor are work-ing in earnest toward its com-pletion.

The world economy is expe-riencing hard times, but thereis no doubt that the joint ef-forts and partnership betweenJapan and India will prove tobe a powerful driving force notonly for both nations but forAsia and the rest of the worldas well.

Also, along with the afore-mentioned infrastructure so-lution projects, we look for-ward to further joint develop-ment in areas of energy,environment and agriculture.Furthermore, we believe thatcitizens from both countrieswill have a better appreciationfor the allure of the culture,arts and tourist attractions ofboth countries.

The JIBCC would like towork toward establishingstronger Japan-India rela-tions at the interpersonal levelthrough a strong commitmentto further economic exchange.

Finally, in addition to cele-brating the arrival of Dr.Singh to Japan, may I expressmy wishes for the further con-tinued development of India.

Harnessing the energy of the sunto power grand Indian ambitionsAn ancient civilization like In-dia has always worshipped thesun as the god who bestows lifeand sustains it. As Prime Min-ister Manmohan Singh put it:‘‘It is to this source of energythat humankind must turn tomeet the twin challenge of en-ergy security and climatechange.’’

Toward this end, India hasdrawn up ambitious plans togenerate a staggering 20,000megawatts of solar energy by2022, a hundredfold increaseover the next 12 years. Thismakes it the world’s biggestsolar energy project.

Asserting that India hasstarted moving forward in uti-lizing solar energy with thelaunch of the Jawaharlal Neh-ru National Solar Mission bythe prime minister earlier thisyear under the brand name So-lar India, Minister of New andRenewable Energy FarooqAbdullah says that about 1,000MW of power would be gener-ated through hundreds of solarpower plants across the coun-try over the next three years.

‘‘In the second phase, we in-tend to generate an additional2,000 MW by 2015 and strive toachieve the target of 20,000

MW by 2022,’’ Abdullah said.‘‘As more and more playersenter the field, the upfront costof setting up a power plant willreduce to make its energy af-fordable to all.’’

Solar energy can transformIndia in so many ways. AsPrime Minister Singh said atthe launch, it could be thecountry’s next scientific andtechnological frontier afterthe revolutions in atomic ener-gy, space and informationtechnology.

The mission’s success ‘‘hasthe potential of transformingIndia’s energy prospects, andcontributing also to nationalas well as global efforts tocombat climate change,’’Singh said.

The target of building 20,000MW of solar power generatingcapacity by 2022 was ‘‘no doubtambitious,’’ Prime MinisterSingh admitted, ‘‘but I do sin-cerely believe that the targetis doable and that we shouldwork single-mindedly toachieve it as a priority nation-al endeavor.’’

With its abundant sunshinefor most of the year, India is ina particularly advantageousposition to develop solar pow-er. The country gets about5,000 trillion kilowatt-hours

per year over its land area,with most parts receiving 4 to7 kwh per square meter perday.

The major problem with therapid rollout of solar power isits high cost compared to othersources of power such as coal.

Current industry estimatesare that it will cost 17.50 ru-pees to produce a unit of solarpower, well over double thecost of production throughcoal.

The Ministry of New andRenewable Energy (MNRE),the nodal ministry for SolarIndia, says the objective of themission ‘‘is to create condi-tions, through rapid scale-upof capacity and technologicalinnovation, to drive downcosts toward grid parity.’’

‘‘The mission anticipatesachieving grid parity by 2022and parity with coal-basedthermal power by 2030,’’ saysMNRE’s mission document.

The economics of solar pow-er look better as the price of

electricity generated fromother sources goes up. Theprice of electricity traded in-ternally has already touchedRs 7 per unit for base loads andaround Rs 8.50 per unit duringpeak periods.

This will rise further as thecountry moves toward impor-ted coal to meet its energy de-mand. The price of power willhave to factor in the availabili-ty of coal in international mar-kets and the cost of developingan import infrastructure. It isalso evident that as the cost ofenvironmental degradation isfactored into the mining ofcoal, as it must, the price ofthis raw material will in-crease.

With energy shortages bit-ing harder, India is increasingthe use of diesel-based elec-tricity, which is also expen-sive — costs as high as Rs 15per unit. It is in this situationthat the solar imperative isboth urgent and feasible to en-able the country to meet long-term energy needs.

The Solar India mission willadopt a three-phase approach,spanning the remaining peri-od of the 11th Five-Year Planand the first year of the 12thPlan (up to 2012-13) as Phase1, the remaining four years ofthe 12th Plan (2013-17) asPhase 2 and the 13th Plan

(2017-22) as Phase 3.The MNRE says the first

phase will focus on capturingthe easy options in solar ther-mal, on promoting off-gridsystems to serve populationswithout access to commercialenergy and on modest capaci-ty addition in grid-based sys-tems. In the second phase, af-ter taking into account the ex-perience of the initial years,capacity will be aggressivelyramped up to create condi-tions for upscaled and compet-itive solar energy productionin the country.

This, MNRE says, will beachieved by creating 15 mil-lion sq. meters of solar ther-mal collector area by 2017 and20 million sq. meters by 2022.

‘‘The ambitious target for2022 of 20,000 MW or more willbe dependent on the learningof the first two phases, which ifsuccessful, could lead to con-ditions of grid-competitive so-lar power,’’ says the missiondocument.

Indian industry will obvi-ously have to play a key role inensuring the success of themission. To do this, it shouldset up ‘‘Solar Valleys’’ acrossthe country along the lines ofthe ‘‘Silicon Valleys’’ that havebeen set up, according toPrime Minister Singh. Reliving history: Located in Neemrana, about 125 km from

Delhi, the fort-palace from the 15th century surprises visitorswith its restored majestic structure. SANDEEP SILAS

Power: Solar panels (above) and other equipment (below left) to collect energy from the sunMINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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Indian prime minister’s visit/world

Congress leaders could stay after upheavalLaurie KellmanWashingtonAP

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Change at the top? Not neces-sarily. Whichever party con-trols the House of Representa-tives and Senate after the elec-tion on Nov. 2 probably willinstall the same leaders whosepolicymaking helped bringabout the sour economy, highunemployment and deficitspending that has led voters tocall for fresh faces.

Different lineups couldmean different fates for healthcare, taxation, governmentspending and regulation, ener-gy and foreign policy, andPresident Barack Obama’sbid for a second term.

The newly elected, no mat-ter how big their freshmanclass, will have to wait forpower. At most, they may getjunior leadership seats in eachchamber as a symbolic ges-ture to the populist wave theyrode in on, lawmakers andcongressional officials say.

Democrats will have to finda new leader to run the Senateif they keep their majority butSenate leader Harry Reid los-es to conservative tea partyfavorite Sharron Angle in Ne-vada. Little more than a weekbefore the election, that raceis a tossup.

The last time voters turnedout a sitting party leader in theSenate was in 2004, when Dem-ocrat Tom Daschle lost to Re-publican Sen. John Thune.

If Republicans make goodon what is widely seen as aHouse majority for the taking,the new speaker is almost cer-tain to be Rep. John Boehnerof Ohio. The 60-year-old has

been in charge of House Re-publicans since the last twoyears of George W. Bush’spresidency. Democrats havespent the campaign seasonportraying him as Bush redux.

Should the Republicans fallshort, the party’s House mem-bers may look to a new slate ofself-described ‘‘young guns’’who are more strident in manyof their views than Boehner.They include Rep. Eric Cantorof Virginia, the second-rank-ing House Republican; Wis-consin Rep. Paul Ryan, a fis-cal conservative who cameclose to derailing Bush’s $700billion bank bailout; and Kev-in McCarthy of California,who after only two years inCongress took charge of re-cruiting the party’s field ofHouse candidates this year.

The three make few bonesabout their ambitions. Theyeven wrote a book about howthey would run the House in apost-Boehner era. Attendingthe book party earlier this fall,Boehner served up a realitycheck of sorts: That particu-lar kind of change is not athand.

‘‘The three of them knowthat my job is to make surethat they’re well-qualified andready to take my place,’’ Boeh-ner said with a semiseriousgrin — ‘‘at the appropriate mo-ment.’’

If that moment comes any-time soon, it will most likely bebecause the Republicansfailed to win a majority in No-vember.

In that less-likely scenario,House Speaker Nancy Pelosiof California probably wouldkeep her post as second in theline of succession to the presi-dency, even after being vili-fied by Republicans through-out this election season as theface of the Washington estab-lishment.

Whether she retains or losesthe majority, Pelosi faces afar less appealing job as lead-er of a smaller Democraticcaucus. Publicly, she has re-fused to entertain the notionthat she will return in any lessrole than as speaker.

No one has stepped forwardto challenge her or her lieuten-ant, Majority Leader StenyHoyer of Maryland, another‘‘old bull’’ with 30 years in theHouse. It is uncertain whetherPelosi would want to head herparty as minority leader, a jobshe held for four years duringBush’s presidency, or for howlong.

A few conservative Demo-crats in difficult re-electionfights have said they would notvote for her again to lead theparty. More have said theywould consider voting for oth-ers. That could pose a chal-lenge for Pelosi if Democratsemerge from the election stillholding a narrow majority.

But Pelosi carried her caucusunanimously in the last twoelections for speaker of theHouse.

In the Senate, look for two ofReid’s lieutenants to competeto succeed him as the Demo-crats’ leader should he lose toAngle. They are third-termSen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, anunabashed liberal and genialand experienced vote wran-gler, and Sen. Chuck Schumerof New York, a scrappy andprescient deal maker.

On the Republican side, Mi-nority Leader Mitch McCon-nell of Kentucky assembledenough votes months ago to re-tain his position as head ofwhat is sure to be a bigger andfeistier Republican caucus.McConnell won a promisefrom South Carolina Sen. JimDeMint not to challenge him.

But DeMint’s support foranti-Republican establish-ment candidates, some ofthem favorites of the conser-vative tea party movement, inseveral primaries positionhim to become a de facto lead-er of the Senate Republicans’more conservative wing.

Tea party’s leaves are looseSurvey findsgroups vaguelyconnected,politically idle

Amy GardnerWashingtonTHE WASHINGTON POST

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In an unruly, unpredictableand chaotic election year, nogroup has asserted its pres-ence and demanded to beheard more forcefully than thetea party. The grassrootsmovement, which wasspawned with a rant, has goneon to upend the existing politi-cal order, in the process re-shaping the debate in Wash-ington, defeating a number ofprominent lawmakers and el-evating a fresh cast of conser-vative stars.

But a Washington Post can-vass of hundreds of local teaparty groups reveals a differ-ent sort of organization, onethat is not so much a move-ment as a disparate band ofvaguely connected gatheringsthat do surprisingly little toengage in the political pro-cess.

The results come from amonths-long effort by ThePost to contact every tea partygroup in the nation, an unprec-edented attempt to under-stand the network of individu-als and organizations at theheart of the movement.

Seventy percent of thegrassroots groups said theyhave not participated in anypolitical campaigning thisyear. As a whole, they have noofficial candidate slates, havenot rallied behind any particu-lar national leader, have littlemoney and remain ambiva-lent about their goals.

‘‘We’re not wanting to b e athird party,’’ said Matt Ney,the owner of a Pilates studioand a founder of the PearlandTea Party Patriots in Pear-land, Texas. ‘‘We’re not want-ing to endorse individual can-didates ever. What we’re try-ing to do is be activists bypushing a conservative idea.’’

The group, with 25 activemembers, meets to discusspolicies and listen to speakers,Ney said. ‘‘We provide oppor-tunities for like-minded peopleto get together,’’ he said.

The local groups stand incontrast to — and, in theirminds, apart from — a handful

of large national groups thatclaim the tea party label. Mostof those outfits, includingFreedomWorks and Tea Par-ty Express, are headed bylongtime political players whohave used their resources andknowhow to help elect a num-ber of candidates.

The findings suggest thatthe breadth of the tea partymay be inflated. The Atlanta-based Tea Party Patriots, forexample, says it has a listingof more than 2,300 localgroups, but The Post was un-able to identify anywhere nearthat many, despite help fromthe organization and indepen-dent research. In all, The Postidentified more than 1,400 pos-sible groups and was able toverify and reach 647 of them.

There is little agreementamong the leaders of variousgroups about what issue thetea party should be most con-cerned about. In fact, few sawthemselves as part of a coordi-nated effort. The most com-mon responses to a Post ques-tionnaire were concerns aboutspending and limiting the sizeof government, but togetherthose were named by less thanhalf of the groups. Social is-sues, such as gay marriageand abortion rights, did notregister as concerns.

If anything tied the groupstogether, it was what motivat-ed their members to partici-pate. Virtually all said thateconomic concerns were a fac-tor, and nearly as many citeda general mistrust of govern-ment. Opposition to PresidentBarack Obama and Demo-cratic policies was a big fac-

tor, but only slightly more sothan dissatisfaction withmainstream Republican lead-ers.

Eleven percent said thatObama’s race, religion or eth-nic background was either a‘‘very important’’ or ‘‘some-what important’’ factor in thesupport their group has re-ceived.

While the tea party groupsmay lack a unifying directionor vision at the moment, theresults show that they are ripefor action. A remarkable 86percent of local leaders saidmost of their members arenew to political activity, sug-gesting they could be turnedinto a potent grassroots forceheading into the 2012 elections.

Of course, their generallack of interest in politics alsosuggests that they could justas easily recede, particularlyif the economy improves.

The tea party’s biggest suc-cesses this year have come on-ly after one of a handful ofwell-funded national groupsswooped in to mobilize localsupport. In upset victories inAlaska and Delaware, for in-stance, the Sacramento-basedTea Party Express spent hun-dreds of thousands of dollarson advertising for RepublicanSenate candidates Joe Millerand Christine O’Donnell.

Other national groups, suchas FreedomWorks and Ameri-cans for Prosperity, have alsobuilt organizations and spentmillions of dollars on advertis-ing, high-profile bus tours orother direct campaign tactics.

Some of the local groupleaders may find such tactics

distasteful. Fifty-seven per-cent said they want to operatea s a network of independententities. And many organizerssaid that the lack of coordina-tion and the independence ofthe groups are what drewthem to the movement, even ifit is a liability when it comes toturning their beliefs into ac-tion.

The tea party has been ac-cused of racism by its politicalopponents. Organizers haverecently kicked out question-able members and havesought to project a more toler-ant image.

But the interviews foundthat Obama’s race is, in fact,important in more than one in10 tea party groups.

Andy Stevens, a video pro-ducer and a founder of the TeaParty Patriots in Anacortes,Wash., said he described Oba-ma’s race and and religion as‘‘somewhat important’’ tomembers of his group becausethey remain troubled by whatthey see as the president’s un-American and un-Christianbehavior.

The groups clearly do notidentify with any particularnational leaders, an indicationthat there is no tea party front-runner to take on Obama in2012. When asked to name anational leader who best rep-resents their views, more thana third of the groups said ‘‘noone.’’ Former Alaska Gov. Sa-rah Palin received the mostmentions, with 14 percent, fol-lowed by talk-show host GlennBeck with 7 percent and SouthCarolina Sen. Jim DeMintwith 6 percent.

Welcome to India’s globalizing prime ministerYog KapoorOWNER, INDIAN RESTAURANT CHAIN

SAMRAT

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It is mind-blowing how theleadership of Dr. ManmohanSingh and Sonia Gandhi hassucceeded inglobalizing andstabilizing acountry like In-dia, where thepopulation is 1.2billion. In spiteof many reli-gions, languag-es and many political parties,bringing them together, reallyis the toughest job in theworld.

Through the Congress partyof Dr. Singh and Gandhi, theirdevotion has brought India on-to the world map today. Self-

sufficiency in the country andindustries such as agriculture,manufacturing, constructionand tourism are booming dueto the stable government andtrustworthiness of the nationin the world.

Japan and India are bothpeace-loving countries in theworld and the visit of Dr. Singhto Japan is very timely sincethe economy of Japan and theworld is in financial crisis. Thepoliticians of both countrieswill take this opportunity as agreat chance in collaboratingwith each other in economic,security and cultural fields.India likely will give Japanesebusinesses a boost in manyfields like agriculture, elec-tronic appliances, automo-biles and many more.

The time is not far away

when India will become the hubfor small cars in the world as al-ready Suzuki of Japan has beenone of the leading automobilesin the Indian market for de-cades. During this visit, Dr.Singh is expected to ink a freetrade agreement and discusswith Prime Minister Naoto Kana bilateral civil nuclear cooper-ation pact, which will enableJapan to export its nuclearpower generation technologyand equipment to India.

Prime Minister Kan’s ad-ministration has expressed itsintention to incorporate thevigor of Asia and other regionsin its new growth strategy. Inline with this policy, an Eco-nomic Partnership Agree-ment (EPA) between Japanand India is expected tostrengthen Japanese compa-

nies’ competitiveness and ex-pand infrastructure exports.

For Japan, one of the big-gest economic powers in theworld — but where the popula-tion is shrinking and the soci-ety is aging — to maintain thisstatus in the world, Japanshould enter into deeper eco-nomic partnership with Indiaand make more concessions tomake Japan more self-sufficient.

So if we work together withgreat sincerity and honestyfor our people, the day is notfar away when again we canbring happiness and prosperi-ty to our peoples without anythreat of war to each other. Wecan make this beautiful worldmore safe, peaceful and pros-perous for the future genera-tions to come.

Artistic craft: Kantha embroidery of West Bengal is one of India’s most popular. The hand-stitched embroidery usually featuresa number of traditional patterns based on religious symbols, tales from epics, scenes from villages, flowers or animals inenchanting color schemes. DILIP BANERJEE

Nancy Pelosi

On the bandwagon: Tea partyers sing the national anthem at the start of a rally Tuesday in LasVegas. The Tea Party Express bus is making a 29-stop tour across 20 states before Nov. 1. AP

John Boehner