The reaction from the Indian Foreign Service has been predictably furious. It has been argued that Indian diplomats cannot do without domestic help; and that those workers could not possibly be paid the prevailing wages, since then they would be paid in the same ballpark as those they are serving. The nature of Ms Khobragade's alleged crime has been minimised. It has been suggested that US diplomats in India be watched carefully, in case they put a foot wrong, as a form of retaliation. It is argued that the US, as a "friendly country", should not have treated Ms Khobragade like a common criminal and arrested and handcuffed her on the street. This is an unfortunate turn of events. Several points need to be noted. First of all, US law enforcement is fiercely independent. The district attorney for Southern New York, the high-profile Indian-American Preet Bharara, is not likely to listen to requests from the State Department in Washington if he believes he is carrying out his duties within the framework of the law. In the US all accused offenders are treated alike - witness the handcuffing of International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn a few years ago. Mr Bharara has made it his mission to address the question of mistreatment of domestic workers by Indians in the US, which has reached alarming proportions of late. In June 2011, India's consul general in New York was sued by his Indian housekeeper for forcing sexual favours. In February 2012, another consular official paid a fine for forcing an underage Indian girl to work without pay and for "barbaric treatment".
Clearly, Indian diplomats can no longer maltreat their domestic workers in the US. The US has worker-friendly laws, and it is to India's shame if its officials are not following them. This incident cannot be allowed to cast a shadow on India-US relations, and the ministry of external affairs should end its policy of supporting the use of domestic workers for its officials abroad.