U.K.: Olympic Torch in India

The Guardian follows the Olympic torch to India today in an article that follows the protest frame that has now become the established form of reporting on this story. The article opens by noting the security restrictions in place and how they "drained [the event] of pomp and circumstance." The Guardian, too, has eliminated anything celebratory from its coverage. It mentions that there were schoolchildren bussed in to cheer on the torchbearers and that several sponsors were disappointed at being barred from getting near the relay path by security, although they were supposed to have access. However, there are no mentions of the athletes who carried the torch (only those who declined to do so), no references to India's Olympic competitors this year, and no background on where the torch was previously or where it is headed to next. Also lacking were comments from any Olympic officials.

What did the article include, then? It was mostly focused on the attempts of protesters to break through the security cordon. One group did, but "...most were met with disproportionate force -- one Tibetan was wrestled to the ground on Indian television by 12 police officers." The article tells of a protest march that began earlier at the site of Mahatma Gandhi's funeral pyre, and it ends with two paragraphs on India's history of political discord with China.