THE RELATIONSHIP between the US and India “will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century”, US president Barack Obama said three times yesterday as he hosted India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, on the first state visit of the Obama presidency.
US and Indian officials refer to their countries as “the world’s greatest democracy and the world’s biggest democracy”.
Shared values were the leitmotif of yesterday’s ceremonies.
The greeting on the White House lawn had to be moved indoors to the East Room, because of rain, and the 19-gun salute was cancelled. It was nonetheless a glittering occasion.
Michelle Obama invited 200 schoolchildren to watch how a state visit is prepared.
Seats at last night’s state dinner for 400 were billed as “the hottest ticket in town”, and there was much speculation about what the first lady would wear.
Alluding to British colonialism, Mr Obama said: “Ours is a common story. It’s the story of two proud people who struggled to break free from an empire and declare their independence.”
The Americans’ warmth and courtesy were calculated to reassure.
Mr Obama was perceived to be “almost suppliant” in China last week, said Raj Chengappa, managing editor of India Today magazine.
India has maintained tense relations with China since losing a border war in 1962. Mr Obama’s apparently innocuous statement that the US and China would “work together to promote peace, stability and development” in south Asia alarmed Delhi.
Mr Obama gave the impression that, while reason dictated a close relationship with the US’s Chinese creditors, his heart leaned towards India.
He praised Mr Singh as “a wise leader . . . a man of honesty and integrity” whom he respected and trusted, and would visit next year.
Last month, the US president commemorated the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, calling on Americans to “renew our commitment to live his ideals and to celebrate the dignity of all human beings”.
Indian-American relations were poor during the cold war, when India declared itself non-aligned, but sided with the Soviet Union.
When India exploded its first nuclear device in 1974, it was treated as a rogue state and subjected to sanctions.
The Indians fear Mr Obama may be a less enthusiastic ally than his predecessor, George W Bush.
Mr Bush ended India’s nuclear isolation with an agreement that distinguished between India’s military and civil programmes and for the first time allowed US companies to share nuclear technology with India.
Critics – including members of Mr Obama’s administration – accused Mr Bush of tearing up the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Mr Obama and Mr Singh both said yesterday that a multibillion-dollar deal for US nuclear power plants and technology transfer would be implemented soon.
“There are a few ‘i’s and ‘t’s which have to be crossed,” Mr Singh said.
Unresolved issues include the liability of US companies in the event of accidents and US oversight over the reprocessing of nuclear fuel.
Mr Obama and Mr Singh are both well intentioned, but their pious stands on nuclear proliferation and climate change showed up the double standards at the heart of those issues.
India became a nuclear power by diverting a civilian nuclear programme and refusing to sign the NPT.
The US now recognises Delhi’s nuclear status because it is a “responsible” power. Neither country has ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
And both governments are dragging their feet on substantial commitments to reducing greenhouse emissions, though both are among the world’s biggest polluters.
Mr Obama and Mr Singh called for a “comprehensive” agreement at the climate conference in Copenhagen two weeks from now.
The US is playing a difficult balancing act between India, Pakistan and China.
This week marks the first anniversary of the attacks in Mumbai, in which Pakistanis linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba killed 166 people.
India wants Washington to put pressure on Pakistan to crack down on extremist groups.
Pakistan, meanwhile, wants Washington to force India to leave Kashmir.
Furthermore, as an Indian journalist said in a question to Mr Obama: “There is a perception in India that the military aid that you give Pakistan is misused against India, and it is really the epicentre of terrorism.”
Mr Obama admitted that “there have probably been times in the past in which we were so single-mindedly focused just on military assistance in Pakistan that we didn’t think more broadly about how to encourage and develop . . . civil society”.