There is the official Indian response to WikiLeaks at last. Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has defended the confidentiality principle of diplomatic communication between ambassadors and the home government, while launching the new website of the publicity and public diplomacy wing for the ministry of external affairs on Saturday.

Like a revolving door, India has hosted every major world leader in the past six months. All United Nations Security Council permanent members or BRIC countries of emerging economies have had their leaders visit India, the world's second fastest-growing major economy after China.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao expressing her pleasure at the launch of the re-designed website of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the brand new Public Diplomacy (PD) Division website, said ‘Web’ is a tool of great empowerment, which has revolutionized the way in which information is collated, communicated and accessed.

For the first time on Friday, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao made her disapproval of WikiLeaks -- the secret US cables that have been made public by the whistleblower website -- saying, "privileged communications" should remain like that. While launching the redesigned MEA and Public Diplomacy websites, Rao said there was a civilisational system that "we would all prefer to see the world operate in".

Against the backdrop of India's growing global stature, the external affairs ministry is now compiling a list of Indian experts in international relations to enable it create an interactive platform for enriching the process of policy formulation.

In the Tanoura dance, a broad-shouldered man, Tarek, comes onto the stage wearing a long multicoloured skirt. He starts whirling around at high speed like a top, and soon the skirt is swirling.

In the history of international relations, WikiLeaks probably signifies the most direct attack on diplomacy as a political tool for managing affairs between countries. Hopefully, it will also trigger open and honest discussion about diplomacy’s future role and practice in this new information era.

Belying speculation about his recall in a section of the media, India's Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood is set for an upgrade as the country's deputy national security adviser.