The two biggest democracies of the world, India and the US have cooperated with each other since the former’s independence. Even some of the most basic and significant features of the Indian Constitution, for example, Fundamental Rights, Judicial Review and the federal system of government, have been borrowed from the American constitution. The US helped India during the tough time of food shortage in India in the 1960s and supported India with a sufficient amount of grains. The US also helped India to set up the Green Revolution in India. However, despite having a great level of cooperation, both India and the US have faced differences on multiple fronts.
Differences in the Past
The contention after independence arose when India opted for the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) in 1961, during the cold war period. The Non-Alignment Movement was seen as an attempt by the newly independent nations and the third world countries as a way to protect their sovereignty against imperialism and colonialism. In spite of adopting NAM, India always showed an inclination towards the Soviet Union. India and the Soviet Union, later, went on to sign the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation in 1971. The treaty marked the point of friction in the bilateral relations of both nations.
Again, 1974 and 1998, were the years when relations between India and the USA went to their lowest level due to the nuclear test conducted by India. The USA wanted India to sign the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on nuclear weapons, which the latter denied on the basis of it being discriminatory. The NPT puts restrictions on nuclear enrichment and its use for arms production. The USA put sanctions on India and prohibited the supply of Uranium. The high rates of subsidy given to Indian farmers, and Intellectual Property Rights issues also became the bone of contention between India and the USA.
Cooperation in the Past
Despite having a number of above-mentioned hurdles in the relationship between India and the US, several factors played a major role in normalizing the situation. The presence of Indian diaspora in America, IT cooperation, cheap skilled human resources, and the Economic Reforms of 1991 acted as the major pacifiers between India and the US relations. The peaceful track record of the use of nuclear energy helped India to get the Indo-US nuclear agreement signed by the US in 2008. In the last few years, India-US relations have witnessed a great deal of success in several spheres , more recently, under the Trump administration.
Changed equations under Trump
In the recent past, under the Narendra Modi government and Trump administration, a new level of cooperation was observed. The aggressive policies of China on India’s border; and the threat to America’s freedom of trade in the pacific region and the South China Sea, brought India and the US to come to cooperate against China. The proximity between Russia and China also distanced India from Russia. The US also started to favor India over its previous allies such as Pakistan.
In 2016, India was announced as a ‘major defense partner’ by the Trump administration. India signed LEMOA and COMCASA for defense cooperation. In 2019, the US Department Of Defense released the Indo-Pacific strategy report, which marked the importance of India as a significant strategic partner of the US. The US administration also renamed the Asia Pacific Command as Indo-Pacific. The highlighting of the Indo-Pacific Strategy under the Trump administration, the 2+2 Dialogue, and Quad conceptualization were also the cornerstone of the growing Indo-US partnership. USA and India also cooperated in space missions such as NISAR, CHANDRAYAN, and STA1 status, which will help in technology transfer to India. The warmth in the relationships of Trump and the Modi administration had also helped to navigate some of the most significant issues surrounding India, for example, Indo-China border issue or the highly contentious Kashmir issue.
Tensions under Trump administration
Amid all these positive signs of partnership both the nations also went through the litmus test of bilateral relations, when Trump announced the scrapping of Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSP) for India. In response to this, India also increased the tariffs from 10 to 50% on US goods. The USA also raised concerns about its trade deficit with India. The Intellectual Property Rights for generic medicines, H1-B visa, Paris Climate Deal, Solar Mission and tariff on Harley Davidson were also some of the major reasons for friction between the US and India.
One of the important spheres of contention between the US and India, was the preservation of human rights. India has faced ire over the abolition of article 35A and amendment to article 370. The USA and most of the western world sided away by saying it was the internal matter of India. But, the detention of the local political leaders, complete lockdown and curfews, suspension of internet services, arrest of journalists, and atrocities by police force were some of the major reasons that caused international human rights supporters to condemn India over the Kashmir issue.
Similarly, in February 2020, during the visit of Donald Trump to India, a violent protest was taking place against the backdrop of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. However, no statement was issued by the Trump administration. In this matter also, the human rights groups condemned the US administration. Even Democrats under the Trump administration constantly urged for a more value-based America for which it was known. To this end, few motions were also brought up in front of the Congress in the US, against India. Though the bills were not passed in the house, however, they raised the question of human rights in India. The same issue of human rights could be a bone of contention in the future under the Biden administration.
Expectations from India-US relations under Joe Biden
Joe Biden, as a Senator, helped to get through the India-US Nuclear deal in 2008 under the Obama administration. A good number of Indian diaspora is also getting represented in the President’s office, including Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also of Indian origin. Biden also announced its full support amid the Covid-19 Pandemic, through direct support of oxygen supply and vaccines. Joe Biden has also supported India’s demand for TRIPS waiver for patents of vaccine production in India. Thus it is fair to say that India could expect extensive relations from the US under the Biden administration.
However, the difference could arise again on the human rights front. The Biden administration recently recognized the Armenian genocide and he also visited the site of the Tulsa Massacre. This shows the President’s commitment to human rights protection. India should also take it as an opportunity to cooperate on human rights matters. The constant condemnation over human rights and Biden’s commitment to human rights could impact India’s relations with the USA in the future.
Way Forward
If India wants to become a major regional power, then it is significant to maximize the collaborations with the US and to minimize the differences.
India can use this as an opportunity to improve the human rights situation. India should learn how to turn this adversity into an opportunity. Instead of brow-beating about security threats in Kashmir, on its border, and from its minorities, India could turn them into significant human resources. India can collaborate with the US on multiple fronts to avoid the ire of the US. They can cooperate on matters such as security, imparting education to youth, skill development, and producing more employment opportunities in the service and IT sector. Further they can collaborate to bring the radical youth into the mainstream, by educating youth about values of democracy etc. All these measures can turn the youth into the support system for the development of the nations and the region as a whole.
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