India Abroad - December 30, 2011

The year of the drift
Words like complacent and flagging permeated the description of US-India ties in 2011

If 2010 saw euphoria vis-à-vis the nvisaged United States-India strate- gic relationship — with President Barack Obama’s visit and his memo- rable address to India’s parliament whereheendorsed New Delhiasaper- manent United Nations Security
Council member — 2011 was at best a damp
squib.
Notwithstanding the second annual US-India
Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi, the US-India
Education Summit in Washington and all of the
other bilateral visits and professions by
President Obama and Indian Prime Minister Dr
Manmohan Singh about the strength of the rela-
tionship, there was no denying that a perceptible
COUR TESY: US EMBASS Y, NE W DELHI
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with India's Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi, July 19

AZIZ
HANIFFA
drift had set in US-India ties. And that while it
could be argued that the relationship is now on
autopilot, it has lost its oomph.
There was a clear acknowledgment that in an
environment where the US was struggling with
its economy and rampant unemployment and
India was gripped by corruption scandals and a
people’s movement ignited by Gandhian Anna
Hazare, simply going through the motions by
itself was a net positive.
But there was certainly more to it than meets
the eye.
The US business, administration and Congress
frustration — over India’s nuclear liability law
that placed the US-India nuclear deal in limbo,
India’s de-selecting of US companies from the
$11 billion jet-fighter deal, and the suspension of
the decision to allow foreign direct investment in
the retail market — was clear.

;Page A17

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