When the American naturalist, poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote his famous essay “Civil Disobedience” in 1849, he had no idea that it will, six decades later, resonate with and inspire an Indian lawyer, Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi in South Africa who will, on his return to India, shake the British Raj with his Satyagraha and help India attain her independence. Interestingly, Gandhi didn’t realize that his non-violent resistance against the British excesses will inspire the American Black Civil Rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King Junior; he used to hang Gandhi’s picture in his dining room and in his office.
Nearly half a century earlier, a young, saffron-robed Indian monk, Vivekananda addressed the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in Sept 1893 and mesmerized the audience with his famous speech: Sisters and brothers of America….Some English poetry experts believe, in T.S. Elliott’s Waste Land (1922), there are traces of influence of the Bhagwad Gita especially in Chapter xvi verse 21 part v.
Indians owe a sense of gratitude to the US President, Roosevelt, who interceded at Casablanca Conference of 1943 with the British PM Winston Churchill for India’s independence. According to the book As He Saw by his son Elliot, Roosevelt stressed, “India should be made a commonwealth at once; India should be entitled to a modern form of government, adequate health and educational standards. But how can she have these, when Britain takes all the wealth of her national resources away from her?”
India and the US share common values such as democracy, freedom of expression, rule of law, religious tolerance and their multiracial, multiethnic, multi -lingual, multi-religious and pluralistic society. Intriguingly, this convergence didn’t make them best of friends.
India had apprehensions about the inclusion of Pakistan in two military groupings: SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization 1954) and CENTO (Central Treaty Organization1955), purportedly established to block the spread of Communism respectively in the South East Asia and the Middle East. The oldest democracy and the largest democracy drifted apart due to American perception of India being close to the Soviet Union, despite India’s non-alignment policy during the Cold War era. India also couldn’t forget that India’s decision to bring the J&K issues to the UN as a victim of Pakistan’s aggression was turned over its head, thanks to the UK, France and USA which supported Pakistan and the aggressor and the victim of the aggression were treated on the same footing.
The first US President to visit India was Dwight Eisenhower; he paid a successful visit to India (9-14 December 1959). Surprisingly, the visit of Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru to USA in November 1961 was far from a success; somehow, Nehru and John F. Kennedy couldn’t click personally. However, it was Kennedy who came forward to supply much needed defence equipment to India when China invaded India in1962.
Again when India faced food shortages, the US supplied wheat under PL480 (Public Law 480) against payment in rupee. Unfortunately, on account of differences on Vietnam, the supplies were disrupted .Some American agriculture scientists are believed to have helped Dr M.S. Swaminathan, usher in the Green Revolution and make India food self-sufficient. The Ford Foundation and several American educational institutions extended considerable assistance in setting up of the IIT Kanpur.
At present, around 400,000 Indian students are studying in USA. Interestingly, more than half-a-dozen prestigious business schools in USA are headed by Indian origin academics today.
India-US relations touched a nadir in1971 when the US President Nixon and National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger shamelesssly supported Pakistani Military dictator, Yahya Khan, whose army committed genocide in East Pakistan, killing nearly 3 million Bengalis and allegedly raping and killing 100,000 women. Instead of helping democratic India that faced an influx of around 11 million refugees from East Pakistan, the US tried to intimidate her by ordering its 7th Fleet sail in the Bay of Bengal!
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the introduction of economic liberalization by Prime Minister Narsimha Rao and Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, throwing open the Indian economy to foreign investment and competition and dismantling the infamous licence and permit Raj in 1991-92, created conditions for the two countries to have a fresh look at each other and explore scope and avenues of collaboration and cooperation.
Though Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee was applauded in the US for coining the phrase “India-US natural allies”, when India carried out nuclear tests in May 1998 without letting the CIA get even a whisper, President Bill Clinton imposed the most severe sanctions on India; it took 14 rounds of talks between EAM, Jaswant Singh and Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbot in eight different countries to facilitate lifting of most of the sanctions.
While President Bill Clinton’s visit in March 2000, the first in 22 years, created institutional infrastructure for a diversified and collaborative relationship, the signing of the Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2006 under President George Bush and PM Dr Manmohan Singh signified a paradigm shift in India-US relations. Overcoming the hesitation of history, the US had made an exception for a nuclear India though she hadn’t signed the NPT.
President Barak Obama became the first President to visit India twice (2010 &2015) and the first US President to be the chief Guest at the Republic Day parade on 26 January 2015. Barring some unpleasantness created by Devyani Khobragade’s arrest (2013), India-US relations got diversified during the Presidency of Barak Obama and Donald Trump.
The joint vision for Asia and Pacific Ocean was rechristened by Trump as Indo-Pacific (from Hollywwod to Bollywood) flagging India’s significance. It advocated a free, open and inclusive region with unfettered flow of trade and commerce and over flights and peaceful resolution of all disputes under international laws, including UNCLOS. India-US relations are witnessing the best phase ever. India is USA’s strategic partner, major defence partner and accorded STA-1 status which puts her on par with America’s NATO allies for transfer of sensitive technologies. On her part, India has signed all the three fundamental communication agreements: LEMOA.COMCASA and BECCA, enhancing the interoperability of communications and intelligence sharing. US defence exports have crossed $20 billion, underlining the burgeoning defence and security cooperation; over 300 joint military exercises, including the Malabar exercise speak for themselves. And for the first time, India’s imports of gas and oil from the US are valued at US$ 14 billion.
In 2021-22, the US replaced China as India’s largest trading partner; bilateral trade touched US$ 119.42 billion, India’s exports accounted for US$76.1 billion, while imports from the US rose to US$ 51.62 billion. Since 2000 till March 2022 American companies have invested a total of US$ 54.1 billion, making it the third largest investor. A 2020 CII revealed that 155 Indian companies have, over the years, invested around $ 22 billion in 50 American states, generating 1,25,000 jobs. Above all, the US remains the largest source of cutting-edge technologies. Over 30 government to government missions are spurring cooperation in every possible sphere.
With an aggressive and assertive China looming large, India and the US cooperate in the Quad on Covid-19 vaccine supplies, climate change, new technologies, alternative supply chains, Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and now in I2U2; its virtual summit ended on 14 July.
Since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first Indian PM to have interacted with three US Presidents, has led this transformation. He developed a warm and close personal relationship with Presidents Obama and Trump which he has continued with President Biden; both have met virtually and in person several times. The receptions hosted for him in Madison Square Garden in New York in September 2014 and “Howdy Modi” in NRG Stadium, Houston, in February 2019 underline his popularity among the 4 million strong Indian Diaspora in USA.
As the undeclared Brand Ambassador of India, besides political leadership, he holds extensive discussions with the iconic American MNCs on his visits to promote economic ties. Notwithstanding differences on Iran, Russia, China, Afghanistan, Ukraine and trade; India and the US pursue the broader vision of bilateral relations. Both countries must show sensitiveness to each other’s core interests and work to broaden the sphere of convergences.
Long live India-US partnership!
Surendra Kumar was India’s Ambassador to Libya, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo and Eritrea & High Commissioner of India to Kenya, Swaziland and Malta.
Notwithstanding differences on Iran, Russia, China, Afghanistan, Ukraine and trade; India and the US pursue the broader vision of bilateral relations. Both countries must show sensitivity to each other’s core interests and work to broaden the sphere of convergences.