That she could speak in Hindi, even if with a heavy Italian accent, endeared Sonia Gandhi to millions of Indians. One of the factors that enabled former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao to acquire and retain the leadership of the Congress party after 1991, securing support even from many opposition party leaders, was his mastery of Hindi and Urdu — Hindustani, so to speak. Not having made much of an impression in his brief tenure as PM, Karnataka leader H.D. Deve Gowda is reportedly learning Hindi to prepare himself for a second innings in New Delhi. Even though. . .
