Mattster, I don't know about which Indian diplomat you are talking about but I have never come across bumbling foreign officers or ambassadors. They are the cream of the Indian civil services and are the best trained.
Perhaps, what you might have observed is Pakistani diplomats are more often seen than Indian diplomats on the American television and so you are trying to construe it in this way. But it will be great if you point out those specific instances where you came across Indian bumbling diplomats.
Guys, guys, get a grip......its not just a case of accent that makes communication effective....its the whole package of public speaking skills on TV. Its the delivery, and the confidence and the charisma and command of the speaker.
Since a lot of you have raised Ronen Sen's name......The man spoke flawless english with a very understandable accent....but he was still lousy on TV. I have heard at least 2 of his speeches.....he simply puts you to sleep. His delivery was horrible, and he had no on-camera presence at all.
The worst was Naresh Chandra - even I couldnt make out what the heck he was saying.
All I am saying is that if you want to communicate to the global audience in places like the US on CNN, etc....then put a media savvy guy with an "on-camera presence", or better yet do what the Pakistanis do - send guys who have spent years in college in the US during their youth and understand American culture.
These are the people who can then communicate their message to the American public.
The Pakistanis are not the only ones to do this, The Israelis are also very good about this. For that matter....even a stone-age country like Saudi has a very savvy ambassador who is great in front of the camera.
Now if you dont care about getting across.....then you can send more Naresh Chandra's