World Notes

Ever since elections in 1989 produced no clear parliamentary majority, the world's largest democracy has been vying for the title of most unmanageable. Last week India's third Prime Minister in two years, Chandrashekhar, resigned, annulling his minority government's four-month marriage of convenience with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's dominant Congress Party. Immediate cause of the downfall: accusations that Chandrashekhar allies set spies on Gandhi.

The latest row culminates an ongoing feud between the two men. Among other things, Gandhi has objected to Chandrashekhar's efforts to open talks with insurgents in Punjab and Kashmir, his fiscal-austerity proposals and his decision to let U.S. warplanes bound for the Persian Gulf refuel in India.