The European diplomats gathered at the German ambassador's residence in New Delhi's lush green embassy enclave quizzed the guest of honour on everything from the economy and communal violence to his political ambitions. But nobody, the representatives from most of the 28 European Union states agreed, could publicly mention the man they were meeting that day: Narendra Modi, country's most controversial politician and, possibly, the next prime minister.
It was a moment that captures the paradox at the heart of Modi, and the caution with which the outside world approaches him. The January lunch at Ambassador Michael Steiner's residence ended a decade-long unofficial EU boycott of the 62-year-old politician, who had just won his third straight term as chief minister of Gujarat. The boycott stemmed from 2002 riots in Gujarat.
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