Obama’s Tour to India: Merely a Business-

cum-Leisure Trip! Politics goes Missing…

by Viral Dholakia

WTF!  A popular Hindi news channel [read: Star News] continuously relayed a message which
read as, “Duniya ka Dabangg aa Gaya,” referring to the US President Barack Obama’s arrival in
India, as a part of his four-country Asian tour.

What’s the need to create humour out of such a highly politicized event? In fact, does this
Duniya ka dabangg’s tour to India have any big-ticket mutually beneficial pact in works? Not
really!

Moreover, Obama’s Democratic Party’s defeat in the US mid-term elections last week reflected
expression of disapproval by the voters over his performance and promises – And, now it
remains to be seen whether the foremost black president of US can spell magic in the remaining
two years of his term, as a case of turnaround.

It is said that the world’s two biggest democracies have committed to a total of $15 billion
worth of deals. But, more than political and strategic partnerships with India, Barack Obama
certainly seems to have arrived here in search of a disguised mandate of creating jobs for the
nearly 15 million people who are unemployed in the US.

Surprisingly, the buzzing growth story of India constitutes to the extent of only 12th largest
importer of the US products – which has a lots more scope to improve in terms of satiating the
ever-increasing demand from an emerging nation of 1.2 billion citizens.
That’s how President Obama’s prioritization of Business links over Politics, on his first ever to
India visit, can be defined – if one were to check the past records of job estimates which signifies
that prevailing unemployment figures is nearly 4 million more than when Obama took office.

How else can you describe President Obama’s effort of spending most of his tour schedule in
interaction with students and youths of the country – and, not as much with the political big-wigs
where the actual geopolitical power play stays?

Early Sunday morning, the Mr Obama spent time with the teachers and students celebrating the
Diwali and cultural activities in Holy Name School in Colaba. He also made a brief visit to a
museum devoted to Mahatma Gandhi before heading towards a meeting of the US-India
Business Council.

Further, on Sunday afternoon, the President spent 75-minute session with Indian students at St
Xavier’s College in Mumbai handling questions about Pakistan, Mahatma Gandhi and US-India
relationships.

After shaking a leg or two with the school children in Mumbai, the US President spent 40-
minutes at Humayun’s Tomb, a World Heritage site, in Delhi. In short, this trip can be best
described as a business-cum-tourist trip than any other stuff.

What India expects from this trip?

1. Easing of tough policies of Obama towards outsourcing – Definitely, not possible.
2. US support for India’s claim to permanent seat in UN Security Council – Obama unlikely
to announce explicit support; though he might just express views on India’s growing
power and role in the international system.
3. Relaxation in US export controls on India – Partial expectations could be met.

What US expects from India?

1. More Indian defense contracts at a time when India’s defense sector is overhauling of its
military hardware – It is estimated that over $30 billion for weapon procurement and
modernization of India’s military could be at stake over the next 2-3 years. Thus, Mr.
Obama might look at diverting some orders from India – who mainly relied on Russian
military hardware, until now – to create jobs and revenues for the US manufacturers.
2. More co-operations revolving around the South Asia policy, especially in helping US to
flex its arms with China over growing distrust and policy difference between US-China
relationships.
3. Pitching for level playing field in India’s Foreign Investment regulations – President
Obama has termed Indian FDI regulations as opaque and urged for an atmosphere of
genuine competition for its firms doing business in India. He has asked India to lift its
restrictions on the FDI in multi-brand retail. Whether or not such policy changes will be
adopted, only time will tell.
One clearly gets a sense that nothing dramatic is likely to emerge from this visit.

2nd

With Obama's visit, India displays new power

(AP) – Nov 9, 2010

NEW DELHI (AP) — For much of the last decade, New Delhi sold itself as "India Rising."
Barack Obama's trip here delivered a new message: India has risen.

During his three day visit that ended Tuesday, the U.S. president delivered nearly everything on
India's wish list, affirming the country's growing importance.

He endorsed India's role in nearby Afghanistan, even though such a statement was sure to annoy
India's regional rival Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the Afghan war. He chided Pakistan for not
cracking down heavily enough on anti-India militant groups operating there. He lifted export
controls, allowing India to buy high-tech weaponry from the U.S., and he gave spirited support
to Indian industry, maintaining it wasn't stealing American jobs, but helping create new ones.

Most importantly for India, he backed its bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council,
a mostly symbolic move that affirmed its place as a new global power.

"In Asia and around the world, India is not simply emerging; India has already emerged," Obama
told the Indian parliament Monday night.
Indian commentators saw the statement as a milestone in the nation's global image; No longer
was it seen as an economic basket case, a potential dictatorship or an unstable collection of
warring ethnic groups.

"It's a very happy acknowledgment that India has turned the corner," said Shekhar Gupta, editor-
in-chief of The Indian Express newspaper, adding the country still has a lot of work left to do.

It isn't just Obama acknowledging India's new clout.

In July, British Prime Minister David Cameron came here with the "core purpose" of wooing
Indian business to help create jobs back home. By the end of the year, when the leaders of
France, Russia and China are expected to come, India will have hosted the leaders of all the
permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

That landmark underscores the shift in power toward India, rooted in its skyrocketing economy,
estimated to grow by about 8.5 percent this year, its enormous potential market of nearly 1.2
billion people and its new clout as a powerful player in Asia. It is seen as a possible
counterbalance to Chinese influence in the region, even though its economic and military power
is dwarfed by China's.

At a time of financial distress in the West, India is finding itself a coveted stop for leaders racing
to snare some of the trillion-plus dollars the country is expected to invest in infrastructure,
defense and agriculture in the coming years. That doesn't include the billions in international
contracts on offer from private Indian companies.

During the Obama trip, much of the commentary on Indian television boiled down to this:
"America needs us."

This is a new position for India, a nuclear power that was nevertheless often shunted aside in
global affairs for decades.

During the Cold War, when its anemic economy gave it far less clout, India angered Washington
by refusing to align itself with the U.S. against the Soviet Union and by refusing to drop its
nuclear ambitions.

In a sign of the tension, President Jimmy Carter, during a 1978 trip here, was so annoyed at
Prime Minister Morarji Desai's resistance to U.S. conditions on the purchase of uranium that he
ordered an aide to send Desai a "cold and very blunt" letter. The remark was picked up by his
microphone.

President Bill Clinton's visit here in 2000 shattered the ice, and George W. Bush's successful
efforts to end India's nuclear isolation has made him a hero here.

Obama charmed India as well, in part by boosting its self confidence and repeatedly treating it as
an equal partner.
But some warned that India's coming out party is a bit premature as hundreds of millions of
citizens remain mired in poverty and its governing bureaucracy remains bloated and corrupt.

"I think Obama was being nice," said Amitabh Mattoo, a foreign policy analyst. "I don't think
India has emerged, I think India is a rising power with a huge amount of potential, but there are
huge problems within India."

Mattoo branded India "a work in progress in terms of becoming a great power," and cautioned
that as it pushes forward on the global stage, the nation will have to drop its historical reluctance
to taking controversial international positions.

It is an issue Obama raised as well, telling parliament that "with increased power comes
increased responsibility," and imploring India to stand up for democratic values across the world.

With the international expectations on the country rising, India will have to work especially hard
to get its house in order and take its place on the global stage, Gupta said.

"This party is ours to spoil now," he said. "India can't afford to disappoint the world.