Abhimanyu Panwar

30/05/2021

Ms. Devina Shukla

Discuss the evolution of India’s changing foreign policy with USA in changing times

“There are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies in international

relations. Permanent is only your supreme national interests. Foreign policy of a
country is aimed to protect its supreme national interest. ”- Unknown

The objectives of India’s Foreign Policy have been clearly defined in the Constitution of

India vide Article 51:

The State shall endeavour to —

(a) promote international peace and security;

(b) maintain just and honourable relations between nations;

(c) foster respect for international law and

(d) encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.

India’s foreign policy towards USA-

After Independence-

NAM- The foreign policy of independent India vigorously pursued the dream of a peaceful

world by advocating the policy of non-alignment, by reducing Cold war tensions and by

contributing human resources to the UN peacekeeping operations.. India wanted to keep

away from the military alliances led by US and Soviet Union against each other. The US-led

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Soviet-led Warsaw pact came into
existence. India advocated non-alignment as the ideal foreign policy approach. This was a

difficult balancing act and sometimes the balance did not appear perfect.

while India was trying to convince the other developing countries about the policy of non-

alignment, Pakistan joined the US-led military alliances. The US was not happy about India’s

independent initiatives and the policy of non-alignment. Therefore, there was a considerable

unease in Indo-US relations during the 1950s.

Indo-Sino war- In October and November 1962, Mao Zedong sent Chinese troops into the

disputed territory along the border in Ladakh and into what was then called the North East

Frontier Agency (NEFA) of India. The Indians were routed. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

had no choice but to ask for help from Washington and London. President John F.

Kennedy immediately ordered an airlift of weapons and supplies to India. The Royal Air

Force joined in the airlift to rush equipment to India. A massive global operation was

underway to help India.

It was not enough. A second Chinese offensive in November crushed the Indians in the

NEFA and appeared to be driving to the Bay of Bengal. Nehru asked Kennedy for 350 United

States Air Force jets and 10,000 crewmen to deploy to India to join the war and bomb China.

The request was conveyed in an urgent letter which has only been declassified within the last

few years. Before JFK answered the extraordinary request, Mao announced a unilateral

ceasefire and pulled back his invaders in the north east, but they did not pull back in Ladakh.

Kennedy also had to deal with Pakistan, which was eager to grab more of Indian-controlled

Kashmir for itself. Kennedy made clear to the Pakistani leadership that he would regard any

Pakistani involvement as an act of war. Karachi backed down. Of course, Kennedy handled
the crisis in South Asia at the same time he was dealing with the Cuban missile crisis and the

very real threat of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Multi-tasking at its best.

After J.F. Kennedy’s assassination- USA and India’s relationship were all time low.

President Nixon’s hatred towards India grew when India’s relations with Soviet became more

friendly.

When the fighting developed, the Nixon administration tilted toward Pakistan. The tilt

involved the dispatch of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal to try to

intimidate the Indian government. It also involved encouraging China to make military

moves to achieve the same end, and an assurance to China that if China menaced India and

the Soviet Union moved against China in support of India, the United States would protect

China from the Soviet Union. China chose not to menace India, and the crisis on the

subcontinent ended without a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Jimmy Carter Visit to India- Third US president to visit India; met President Neelam

Sanjeeva Reddy and PM Morarji Desai; addressed Parliament. Carter, who came to deliver a

“cold and blunt message” to India over its nuclear ambitions, failed to get the Janata

government to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The computer revolution has come to India - After Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi

rose to power in 1984, the computer became the emblem of his ambitious ... to lift India into

the 21st century with the help of American technology.

Pokhran II , 1998 India’s nuclear test- By the time India had conducted tests, the

country had a total of $44bn in loans in 1998, from the IMF and the World Bank. The

industrial sectors of the Indian economy, such as the chemicals industry, were likely to be

hurt by sanctions. In 1998, Indian government announced that it had already allowed for

some economic response and was willing to take the consequences.

nuclear tests in 1998 resulted in the international community imposing another round of

sanctions that included a ban on the transfer of any kind of high-end technology and the sale

of dual use items to India.

Though the two countries engaged in negotiations to rid India of some of the sanctions in the

aftermath of the 1998 nuclear tests during the Clinton administration, the progress was slow,

given reservations over nuclear non-proliferation.

An important turning point was the election of Republican Party’s George W. Bush as

president of the US in 2000. Between 2001 and 2004, many sanctions on Indian “entities"—

government-run military, defence and space establishments—were removed, though there

were embargos on technology transfers. And India and the US took their first tentative steps

towards civil nuclear cooperation with the “Next Steps in Strategic Partnership" document

signed in 2004 during a visit by then Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The final deal

After many rounds of tough negotiations spanning the next three years, the US Congress on

27 September 2008 gave its final approval to the agreement facilitating nuclear cooperation

between the US and India. The deal was finally signed by then US secretary of state

Condoleezza Rice and then foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The signing of the deal rid India of the tag of nuclear pariah attached to it for more than three

decades. It also lifted a three-decade US moratorium on nuclear trade with India. It also

helped India add nuclear energy to its list of energy options that was heavily reliant on coal-
based thermal power plants. For the US, it resulted in opportunities to engage in nuclear

commerce—to invest in India’s huge energy market.

Obama’s tenure was a bag of mixed foreign policy from India. The then Prime minister Man

Mohan Singh’s trip to Washington was followed a year later with a visit by Obama to India.

During this visit, Obama announced support for India to become a permanent member of the

United Nations Security Council but Obama’s support for Pakistan was also a major problem

for India.

2014- Present -Since President Donald Trump’s entry into office, India-United States (US)

trade relations had been passing through a turbulent phase. Following India’s proposed

retaliation against US steel and aluminium tariffs, trade negotiators from the two countries

began consultations to resolve trade differences. Both countries had hopes of crafting a

meaningful trade package, but with India’s data localization rules and the US withdrawal of

India’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits, the trade environment is again

turning hostile, and these hopes are unlikely to materialize.

In February 2017, Indian ambassador to the U.S. Navtej Sarna hosted a reception for

the National Governors Association (NGA), which was attended by the Governors of 25

states and senior representatives of 3 more states. This was the first time such an event has

occurred. Explaining the reason for the gathering, Virginia Governor and NGA Chair Terry

McAuliffe stated that "India is America's greatest strategic partner". He further added, "We

clearly understand the strategic importance of India, of India–U.S. relations. As we grow our

21st century economy, India has been so instrumental in helping us build our technology,

medical professions. We recognise a country that has been such a close strategic ally of the

US. That's why we the Governors are here tonight." McAuliffe, who has visited India 15
times, also urged other Governors to visit the country with trade delegations to take

advantage of opportunities.

India’s foreign policy toward USA turned bitter (very slightly) when President

Trump suspended H-1B visas, which is popular among Indian IT professionals, along with

other foreign work visas for the rest of the year. Trump admin order also suspends and limits

entry into the US of H-1B, H-2B and L visas and their dependents till December 31, 2020.

2021- Since Joe Biden became the new President of The States, India’s foreign policy

towards Russia has come to an invisible blockade due to Russia’s close relationship with

china. This May result in a healthy relationship with USA and it may grow more in the

coming years

Conclusion

India's foreign policy towards United State of America has been the by-product of specific

historical background in which contribution of various leaderships, diplomats, military

officers and Indian Diaspora have been outstanding. This historical backdrop to a great extent

has influenced the growth of various principles and theories of India’s foreign policy towards

USA. That is why in the post- independence era three basic objectives i.e., national security;

economic development and world order proved to be the core issues around which India’s

foreign policy revolved. After the analysis of history of bilateral ties between India and

United State of America, one can draw the conclusion that the main problem is related with

the role of India at World stage. US policy makers had never provided due space as India

desired. American ‘small nation big power’ syndrome is the main reason behind it. In this

globalized world, one thing is certain that no one can overlooked India due to its population,
big market, software power and its commitment towards democratic beliefs. India-US ties are

the need of the hour for a better society in the world.