MUST SEE! Indian leaders' tryst with TIME magazine

Time magazines's latest cover report on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which has dubbed him as an 'underachiever' has created quite an uproar in the country.

Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has used the report to further their disapproval of the United Progressive Alliance government, stating that the US magazine has only written the 'obvious'. They even went on to demand prime minister's resignation over the controversial story.

Predictably, the ruling Congress came all out in defence of their prime minister questioning Time's logic to arrive at such "ridiculous view". Home Minister P Chidambaram described BJP's attacks as 'distasteful' and sought to point out Time's June, 2002 article on Atal Bihari Vajpayee in which the former PM was termed 'asleep on the wheel.'

Time magazine has a long history of putting Indian leaders on its cover and many of them have created uproar in the country. Rediff.com looks back.

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The Time magazine, in its March 26 issue, published an article on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, with the heading: "Modi means business", along with a strap: "But can he lead India?"

The cover story highlighted the achievement of Gujarat under his chief ministership. This was the first time a regional leader from India was featured on the magazine's cover.

Time magazine named Gandhi the Man of the Year in 1930. Gandhi was also the runner-up to Albert Einstein as "Person of the Century" at the end of 1999.

In 2011, magazine named Gandhi as one of the top 25 political icons of all time. Gandhi has been featured on Time's cover thrice.

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Mahatma Gandhi as Man of the Year in Time's January 5, 1931 cover.

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Gandhi on Time's cover again, in June 30, 1947.

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Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on the magazine's cover in its march 7, 1938 issue.

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India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel on the magazine's cover in its January 27, 1947 cover.

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Nehru on the magazine's cover in its October 17, 1949 issue.

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Nehru on the magazine's cover in its May 7, 1951 issue.

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Nehru on the magazine's cover in its July 30, 1956 issue.

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Nehru on the magazine's cover in its December 14, 1959 issue.

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Nehru on the magazine's cover in its November 30, 1962 issue. The covers depicts the 1962 Sino-Indian war, and also features the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong in the background.

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Lal Bahadur Shashtri, the second prime minister of India on the magazine's cover in its August 13, 1965 issue.

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Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on the magazine's cover in its January 28, 1966 issue.

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Indira was on the cover again in the magazine's December 6, 1971 issue, sharing space with Pakistan's then President Yahya Khan. The cover depicts the 1971 India-Pakistan war.

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Indira Gandhi featured again on the magazine's cover after her assassination in its November 12, 1984 issue.

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on the magazine's cover in its December 22, 1986 issue.

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Congress president Sonia Gandhi too, made to Time's cover after her party regained power in this May 24, 2004 cover.

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