The epithets seem to be flowing. After Time magazine called Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 'underachiever, the Washington Post has said, 'India's silent PM becomes a tragic figure'.

A report by Simon Denyer from New Delhi in the newspaper on Wednesday said, '…critics say the shy, soft-spoken 79-year-old is in danger of going down in history as a failure'.

Twisting the knife in, the report further said, 'The image of the scrupulously honorable, humble and intellectual technocrat has slowly given way to a completely different one: a dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government.'

Under Singh, the newspaper said, 'economic reforms have stalled, growth has slowed sharply and the rupee has collapsed. But just as damaging to his reputation is the accusation that he looked the other way and remained silent as his cabinet colleagues filled their own pockets.'

Sanjay Baru, Dr Singh's media adviser in his first term as prime minister, has been quoted as saying, 'In the process, he transformed himself from an object of respect to one of ridicule and endured the worst period in his life.'