Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing visit to the United States is by far the most prestigious. Though he has visited the US six times since he took over as prime minister in 2014, it is his first state visit. That he is the third Indian leader after Dr S Radhakrishnan and Dr Manmohan Singh to be honoured in this manner is quite revealing in itself. Internationally, he is the third after the French and South Korean presidents to be accorded a state visit by the Joe Biden administration. He will be the first Indian to address a joint session of the US Congress for the second time, an honour he shares with a few world leaders like Winston Churchill. He will be taking yoga to the world stage — literally — when he will lead the yoga session on International Yoga Day in the UN premises.
Modi will not only be meeting top officials of the Biden administration, including the President, who hosts a gala dinner reception in his honour, but also chief executives of a large number of US companies. Agreements worth billions of dollars are expected to be signed during the visit. In a first of its kind, the US will be signing an agreement with India under which jet engines would be manufactured in India. That the US has agreed to partner with India in this area is a measure of the importance it attaches to bilateral relations. Modi’s visit has already impacted the Indian diaspora, whose leading lights have already prepared a series of programmes that will make the visit a big event. All this is a reflection of the growing status of India, which has already overtaken Britain as the fifth largest economy.
It is not for no reason that India and the US describe their relationship as a strategic partnership. An important aspect of his visit is likely to be military cooperation. The two sides have been strengthening their defence ties over the past few years, with both engaging in joint military exercises and defence technology cooperation. There is also a possibility that India will be looking for better technology than what Russia can offer when it comes to defence purchases. The two countries are also expected to discuss regional security issues, particularly in the context of the present situation in Afghanistan where India has invested heavily in infrastructural development. One notable feature is that Kashmir, which used to be an irritant in India-US bilateral relations, is no longer on the radar. In any case, the US had stopped worrying about Pakistan when it discussed relations with India.
One undeniable aspect of the strategic partnership is the threat from China, which has been bent upon strengthening its sphere of influence in the region, much to the dismay of neighbouring countries, including India. It continues to create border problems either through incursions or staking claims on Indian territories, for instance, Arunachal Pradesh. It is in this context that India is involved in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD), commonly known as the Quad, a strategic security dialogue among Australia, India, Japan and the US that is maintained by talks among member countries. Meanwhile, many US companies, including iPhone manufacturer Apple, have been shifting their manufacturing base from China to India, buoyed by the ease of doing business in India.
However, It would be a negation of reality to claim that there are no irritants in bilateral relations. The US never misses an opportunity to preach democracy to the rest of the world. Its commission on international religious freedom has been submitting reports that do not show that religious freedom in India has been on an even keel. There have been changes that do not show the country in a good light. What is happening in Manipur, where thousands of houses and hundreds of churches were destroyed and tens of thousands of people were pushed to the refugee camps, is a matter of shame. True, this is an internal matter of the country. While Uncle Sam has no right to question India on this count, the need to address fears of democratic values losing steam in India cannot be overemphasised. This should not, however, detract from the importance of Modi’s visit.
