Special Report: Iran Nuclear Crisis    

    NEW DELHI, April 23 (Xinhua) -- India has rejected the United States' advice on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's brief visit to India slated on April 29, saying India could do without any guidance in the matter, according to the local newspaper The Hindu on Wednesday.

    Reacting strongly to State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey's observations in Washington on Tuesday, A spokesman of the India's Ministry of External Affairs said "both nations are perfectly capable of managing all aspects of their relationship with the appropriate degree of care and attention. The situation in the region has always drawn the attention of both the nations and it can be seen perfectly well that these have been managed through continuous dialogue and exchange of delegations at various levels."

    "Neither country needs any guidance on the future conduct of bilateral relations as both countries believed that engagement and dialogue alone lead to peace," the spokesman said.

    Refuting the official American presumption to advise New Delhi, the spokesman said "it is important that the genius of each nation living in a particular region is respected and allowed to flower to meet the expectations of enriching relations with neighbors."

    Casey said Washington wanted India to talk tough with Iran during Ahmadinejad's visit, hoping it would ask Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities in line with the U.N. Security Council's demands.

    "Washington would also encourage New Delhi to ask Iran to become a more responsible actor on the world stage by ending its rather unhelpful activities regarding Iraq and support for terrorism," Casey said, adding that but it was up to India to decide how to manage its bilateral ties with Iran.