It was under a Republican administration led by George Bush in 2005 that the United States had denied visa to a certain Gujarat chief minister named Narendra Modi. A Democratic president, Barack Obama, went around hugging PM Modi. His republican successor, Donald Trump, is prone to lash out at India over a few motorcycles, and yet the strategic ties between the two countries have only been growing.
No matter who wins an election in New Delhi or Washington, India-US ties only get stronger. That caveat aside, it is important to note the ups and downs in the relationship.
Should Joe Biden become the next US president, he can only do better for India than Trump did. But Biden may not be politically good for Modi. Such nuance matters, even if we may not like to hear the truth that India isn’t Modi and Modi isn’t India. The country is bigger than its leader, no matter how popular s/he is.
Also read: Only common agenda between Trump and Biden — tackling the China challenge
Biden won’t be silent
In January 2015, in the backdrop of a ‘ghar wapsi (religious conversion of minorities)’ campaign by Hindu fundamentalists, Barack Obama spoke in Delhi just before leaving for the airport. In this address, he lectured India on religious tolerance. “No society is immune from the darkest impulses of men and too often, religion has been used to tap into those instead of the light of God. Every person has the right to practise any faith or none as he chooses without the fear of prosecution,” Obama said in a speech that was virtually ticking Modi off in his own capital.
Earlier this year, religious violence broke out in Delhi while President Trump was visiting. Trump refused to speak on the violence, or against the protests around India’s controversial new citizenship law — the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). “I want to leave that to India and hopefully they will make the right decision,” Trump said in a statement in New Delhi, which the American media saw as defending Modi.
Juxtaposing these two incidents will tell you why Narendra Modi may not be so keen about seeing Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House. Both leaders have on record taken positions that make it clear they back a liberal India, and care about it. We can be sure that Biden-Harris won’t give Modi the free pass that Trump did. Biden has expressed disapproval of the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and Kamala Harris’ words on the abrogation of Article 370 should alarm New Delhi: “We have to remind the Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world. We are keeping a track on the situation. There is a need to intervene if the situation demands.”
It is difficult to imagine India snubbing American lawmakers asking tough questions on Kashmir or anti-Muslim violence and laws — should Biden become president.
Modi’s Hindu fundamentalist base was ecstatic when Donal Trump became president, because of his unabashed Islamophobia. They also saw his victory as a sign of the global legitimacy of nationalist, xenophobic and Islamophobic politics. In a similar fashion, a Democrat victory will have an opposite impact on global politics.
A Biden presidency will deepen India-US ties thanks to rising China, but when it comes to hugging Modi, the Democrats might remember how Modi lent himself to the Trump campaign.
Also read: Trump or Biden, India-US strategic ties won’t be friction-free
Do we still share the shared values?
Note that even under Trump, the US government hasn’t exactly been silent on the growing deficit of democracy in India. Alice Wells of the US State Department issued statement after statement disapproving of India on the CAA, detained Kashmiri politicians, and internet restrictions in Kashmir. If that’s what the Trump administration did, it is easy to guess that Biden will be louder.
India is no Saudi Arabia for the US that it would look the other way. Confronting China, the US is already stressing more on the good ol’ spiel about democracy, freedom and rights. It won’t be possible for Biden to make a big deal about democratic values and hug Modi three times a year if India’s democratic deficit keeps growing.
Trump-appointed Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, was recently in Delhi. Count the number of times he talks about democracy and rights in his short interview with ThePrint’s Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta. An isolationist Trump may not have cared about democracy, but the Democrats will be back to seeing mutual, shared democratic values of religious freedom, tolerance and democracy as underpinning the India-US relationship. A shared enemy in China alone is not enough.
Modi has also invested too heavily in Indian Americans, but with Kamala Harris as vice president, the Indian American community will not be seen as Modi’s army influencing US politics. More likely that the Hindu fundamentalist noise in the US election will irritate the Democratic leadership. None of this is good news for Modi.
Also read: More than two-thirds of Indian Americans likely to vote for Joe Biden, survey says
Why Trump wasn’t great for India
Donald Trump was very happy to address stadium full of crowds with Modi. He almost got an endorsement with Modi speaking the words “Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar (this time, vote Trump).” But if you look at issues, the Trump presidency hasn’t been great for India.
Trump’s inward-looking, isolationist stance has left the US’ friends such as India feeling betrayed. His protectionist policies have hurt the Indian economy and his xenophobia has hurt Indian immigration visa-seekers more than all the Muslim countries put together.
Donald Trump has forced India to not buy cheaper oil from Iran and Venezuela. (Trump thought Modi wouldn’t mind.) Trump forced India to buy more expensive oil and gas from the United States, even pushing for long-term commitments that aren’t viable. Despite the India-China border tensions, Donald Trump hasn’t given India waiver from an American law that threatens sanctions on countries purchasing arms from Russia.
Meanwhile, Trump raised tariffs on imports from India, on everything from steel to rubber, causing a “mini trade war” with India. He has removed preferential treatment given to Indian exports, further hurting the Indian economy at a time when it’s been bleeding. A host of changes to US visa policies have made it harder for US firms to hire Indians on H-1B work visas. This has hit the Indian outsourcing model hard.
India ratified the Paris climate accord in October 2016 under the presumption that the US will keep its word on the Green Climate Fund that would have invested in Indian renewables. But Trump didn’t want to shell out the money, and blamed India and China for walking out of the Paris Agreement.
Also read: Biden ahead in swing states, but pollsters say there’s a ‘shy Trump’ votebank to watch out for
Why Biden will be better for India than Trump
A Democrat administration in the US is expected to be more reasoned, mature and act towards India as if it were a friend and not club it with China and other countries on issues of trade, climate change, oil and defence exports.
The Trump administration’s growing hard-line on China has aligned well with India at a time of growing Chinese aggression at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Trump also did take a hard line on Pakistan, if only to avoid giving money to Islamabad. Yet in the bargain, he also ceded space to Islamabad in the Afghanistan peace talks.
A Democrat administration is likely to go back to the drawing board on the US-Iran nuclear deal, opening up not just Iranian oil but also strategic space for India with Iran in the Middle East. A Biden-Harris presidency may also look differently at the Paris Agreement, visas for Indian workers, and so on. All things considered, Biden should be good for India, even if he’s less keen to see relations with India in the personalised format that Modi prefers, and see them more as government-to-government relations.
Also read: Affluent voters, presence in swing states — why Indian-Americans matter to both Trump & Biden
Trade deal over hugs
That is how it should be. Over-personalised diplomacy has backfired for Modi with Nawaz Sharif (Pakistan) and Xi Jinping (China), and his stadium rallies with Trump will be an embarrassment should Biden win.
Not that Modi’s personalised style was able to tame Trump, who frequently lashed out at India and mimicked Modi, insults we swallowed without a whimper. A Biden presidency won’t embarrass us with offers such as mediation on Kashmir. Just look at how Trump recently insulted India by saying it has ‘filthy air’ and Biden tweeted saying that’s not how you talk about friends.
It is time for India and the US to put their national interests above domestic politics at a time of great Chinese expansionism. India getting a good trade deal with the United States alone will be worth a lot more than the sort of civilian honours that countries like Russia helpfully give Modi before a general election.
The author is contributing editor to ThePrint. Views are personal.
a typical article from a leftist-islamist
The ultra extremists hindus should stop killing innocent terrorists in Kashmir.for india to ensure human rights Sharia should be imposed with immediate effect and india should be declared an islamic state.and last but really important charas ganja should be legalised and sold in canteens of jnu and Jadavpur University
Innocent terrorists! Great phrase by you.
Biden manifesto go to hell…When he will come to power he will realise the Indian aura and his policies will get shifted as per Modi administration…People were also saying same thing about UAE and Saudi when Modi came to power in 2014…Whatever modi is doing for Kashmir it’s all legal and nobody can interfere with that..
If Modi forced annexed of Kashmir is legal against UNSC ruling of self referendum, then Pak annex of Kashmir is also rightful. Which already happening now, that Pak is publishing new maps including Kashmir & Balochistan as a province, since US-UK-Fr-Russia have all betrayed UNSC laws to not condemn India illegal annexed of Kashmir, Jammu, Ladakh in violation of UNSC law.
The ultra extremists hindus should stop killing innocent terrorists in Kashmir.for india to ensure human rights Sharia should be imposed with immediate effect and india should be declared an islamic state.and last but really important charas ganja should be legalised and sold in canteens of jnu and Jadavpur University.
How islamofobia word came out and why it is in presence, check history of india take in count terrorist attack then you should devide all culprits by its religion
CAA and NRC is necessary to save india same as to remove 370, 370 and all other was held used by terrorist in past. You should count terrorist attack before modi and after modi after that you nonsense write article
How islamofobia word came out and why it is in presence, check history of india take in count terrorist attack then you should devide all culprits by its religion
CAA and NRC is necessary to save india same as to remove 370, 370 and all other was held ghly used by terrorist in past. You should count terrorist attack before modi and after modi after that you nonsense write article
Good article. lot of idiots seem to be commenting here.
Welcome to the club. idiot.
Well done buddy
Respected Vij sir,
As a respected citizen you should refrain from atleast showing your hatredness /personal grudge for any individual in a print media.Trump or Biden why intellectuals like you donot think your countries intrest/ prestige first.The CAA and aborgation of article 370 is approved by the parliament, in a democracy we should not expect that before enactment of any law the govt should consult intellectuals like you,yes you may utilise your intellectual property for betterment of the country .You may put india in such a situation that who ever may the president of USA should be eager to have friendly relationship with India, donot you view the press briefings of diplomats of communist china ,how they are firmly defending their country? Ok we may be in a democracy and they may be in a communist country but sir as a senior writer your articles must put the nation/ country first.
Shivam’s naivety is exhibited greatly here; this is a different geopolitical context. Be it Biden or Trump, the internal challenges of India will not bother US. Shivam needs to stop feeding venom to his bias. He needs to learn the new world and stop beating a broken drum 🙂
Agree. Unfortunately this left bias in journalism is eating into a brazen display of spewing venom on India and it’s leadership almost to the point of building an anti India narrative
The same journo will not talk one bit about China and it’s expansionist policies and suppressing internal populations of different ethnicities and islamophobia as a state policy.
Propaganda News ?
Yes
They so called secular Seeking US help,, they dont know that this time No one world leader has ability to control india, they khan market gang crying all time bse they are anti national, Pro Chinese Media.
Pakistan security division says Imran’s Gilgit-Baltistan move could hurt ‘Kashmir movement’
The comments are filled with Bhakts or should I call them as bots?!The article has perfectly explained the political relationship between India and US if Biden becomes President n like it was mentioned I hope xenophobia and communal hatred in India ends one day.
Hey sis open your eyes it’s not us right wingers spreading communal hatred. It’s always these left leaning channels like the print, the quint who come up with terms like islamophobia and all. And by secular you mean protecting those who shouted Bharat tere tukde honge and restore article 370. Then sorry but we don’t want such secularism
Biden will be no good for India since they ll again support Pakistan monetarily same way Obama did
Yes like it’s happening in France now. So much peace ful attacks can be their by only by ur peaceful ppl of certain community.
Depends on how much you can tolerate public opinion. You can call them bots, much like Rahul Gandhi calls voters are bots.
Have you noticed…there is spelling mistakes.. anyway coming to the writer’s point.. giving lecture not being in power is different.. and USA currently can not afford losing India with Turkey and China being dominant in india.. the write ignores that.. i dont think Biden & Harris will take the risk .. thanks !
Come to Europe (France, Belgium, Germany or Austria) and let’s see what you have to say then. When you worry every day that if you or your loved ones return home or not because of Islamic terrorism, then you will understand this. These Islamic pigs don’t dare to show their true color until they are in majority. They demand for equality when they are in minority and as soon as they are in majority, they start to claim sharia law. All your religious rights will be evoked and if you don’t convert to their religion you will be abandoned. How difficult is this concept for you to understand?
Are you blind or just ignorant? These pigs demand for equal rights when they themselves fail to do so for the females in their community. Shame on people like you for defending their community.
Hello madam 1989-1990 5 lacs kashmiri hindus were thrown out of the valley just bcoz they were hindus.their women were raped coz they were hindus.y nobody speaks about kashmiri hindus?
FYI in kashmir hindus r in minority.
Speaking for rights of kashmiri hindus is communal??
why you are very obsessed with foreign hand in our policy . . because u think india is inferior to great America… but please see the black live matter movement.. they have too skeleton in their closets. Great leftist has promised to other india nationalists or any their with 100 million dollars grant . surely print was received substantially amount … i am happy money is coming to india .. but not on foreign hand in shaping policy.
SHIVAM VIJ, Next article for you. “Why one should HATE Prime Minister of India named Narendra Modi?” and Next one should be “India-US ties thanks to rising China,”
Believe me no body in earth can stop Modi ji.
No body have power to stop Modi ji .
Sure, I agree
Just imagine 2g internet at current times.
I bet if such restriction would have prevaled in any other state ,people would have started mass suicides and yes don’t give excuse of safety …… Terrorism was even there when there was no internet indian govt. Is really torturing kashmiri minds but we stand strong …
Just one lockdown made ur lives miserable imagine the condition in Kashmir.
Where the hell are you living?
3G internet is already restored in major areas except very sensitive zones.
Great article
What kashmir policy ? Os this Indian website ??
Sanghis crying in comment section with no proper rebuttal except tagging critiques of modi as anti-hindu…. Only journalism they accept would be of opindia, swarajya and Arnab TRPswami. They can’t imagine their Supreme leader’s dear priend Dolan trumb losing…
Writter is a communist and hinduphobic
Shivam, victim of Modi phobia. how shamelessly you are expressing your propaganda !! Ye dar acchi hai.. your loads of loads news articles only consolidate hindus, keep doing your propaganda for waking up all hindus.
Shivam, victim of Modi phobia. how shamelessly you are expressing your propaganda !! Ye dar acchi hai.
Y always The print is anti-modi? Always always
Really the print is sick, what do they mean by not good for modi, he is elected by 130crores Indians, biden or trump they have to be with India.we are big market, you care we care.
Bullshit article by a communist. Hey sekhar Gupta, you are a nobody to patriotic Indians
Modi haters have run out of luck. They are now hopelessly expecting that Biden if won would be on the sides of leftists and librandu crooks.
Typical Shivam article.
If Print wants to continue with these incompetent journalist like Shivam Vij and Ruhi Tewari, I won’t be subscribing to this bulls*it.
Their article are not analysis and are more of a propaganda.
Nah Biden and Kamala Harris will fall in line. No president of US can stop Modi from following his Kashmir agenda. Shivam Vij (who is very happy for any anti Modi event taking place) can mark my words. If US wants to co-operate with India, it has to respect what an elected leader of India with huge majority decides. US can only release some press statement here and there about Modi’s kashmir and muslim policy. Next is Uniform Civil Code and no pseudo liberal and pseudo secular can prevent Amit Shah from implementing it.
This time the habbit of US poking in internal affairs of India won’t be tolerated.
My man, you just spoke the entire truth. I am really proud of how many Indians have begun to realise Modi was best for India than anybody can ever be. No Foreign power can ever have any authority over India, and even if it has, it won’t matter, because Modi never cares for such crap that these Anti-Indian so called journalists write about. Borat seems better than these egg-heads.
Political parties should pursue national agenda, not whims and fancies of leaders. Problem begins when nations pursue very sectarian agenda(s).
Aye haye haye kya baat kahi hai. Koi ek do taali bajaa do inke muh par.
No US president can make Indian lives better.
The Print as always propaganda peddling specialist.
Chacha
Shivam is completely wrong about this article, though it’s his opinion he is only sharing one sided story, you can’t call this journalism but hypocrite and minority pleasing, it’s become fashionable to bash hindu idealogies.
Print how about how about article on Kashmir and PoK and how and when India should attack Pakistan to get back PoK and Gilgit. How about Article on 2 front wars. India should rise defence budget above $150 billion and should be ready for war in 2 years.
wrong
Schizophrenia has definitely set in ” THE STUPIDO ” seems to fear MODIJI and knows HINDUS will stand firmly behind MODIJI and now wants BIDEN to do something against MODIJI.
MAMMAMIA don’t you worry I just found a piece of pizza in our fridge, you see
” PIDDI ” only eats fresh food and we know you are more loyal than ” PIDDI”
That’s the reason I voted for Trump this time.
No Shivam No. Wrong once more. During and in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots, Modi as CM copped a lot of criticism for doing nothing and in some instances for actually encouraging large scale violence. It made no difference to him and it made no difference to his urban Gujarati voters and Gujarati industrialist friends and NRI supporters. Nothing that Biden (or Harris or Obama or Ocasio-Cortez or Warren) says will reduce any support for Modi amongst his core group. Under Modi BJP will prosper, they will win more elections and power and money will keep both BJP and RSS happy. Unfortunately more Modi and BJP prospers, more India suffers with economic catastrophe and social unrest. Your optimism that Biden can make Modi change is misplaced. Only Indians can make him change or change him. But they will have to do it themselves. Depending on America isn’t going to work.
What about the special community that cocks a snook at the laws of the land, riots & kills at the blink of an eye, destroys crores of public property and slits thr0ats when they want to make a point?
Will the Biden Govt “tick them off” – while while ticking Modi govt for its Kashmir policy?
This author is a rascal who needs two slaps.
…and you are a COWARD who doesnt have the guts to reveal your real name…because you know fully well that you are going to be thrashed…ha ha ha ha
I will slap you left right
Please do not worry. Bedian is not going to be president. Democratic party is just like congress in India taken over by ultra left radicals. Trump will win with even bigger mejority. Bedian does not have support of middle income Americans who are the silent voters. Bedian has support only from dumb self declared 5 start activists and liberals like the author of this artical. What a shame to say Bedian will interfear in kashmir police… might be you did not notice the Govt in power in India does not care of what world things or reacts when it comes to National intigration and sovernity. I really wonder how can such dumb person is allowed to write artical in Print. THE DAYS OF WHAT OTHER THINK ABOUT ME ARE OVER. WE WILL DO WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR NATIONAL SECURITY.. PERIOD… THAT IS WHY WE VOTED FOR MR.MODI
OHH REALLY BUT HE IS WINNING THE ELECTORAL VOTES ARE ON HIS SIDE.
Such a shame it is.
People are getting beheaded and brutally murdered across the world due to Islamic fundamentalism. But all that bothers the woke journalists in India (e.g. Mr. Shivam Vij, Ms. Jyoti Yadav, Ms. Shubhangi Misra, etc.) is Hindu fundamentalism.
Shivam has absolutely no idea how foreign policy works between two countries. It depends on mutual benefits. India is the biggest importer of US weapons and US needs India for that matter more than anything else. Second, Shivam is suggesting that “Biden-Harris won’t give Modi the free pass that Trump did.” That means India should ask US before setting up its internal policies. What a shame. Still living in slave mentality.
So open conversion and Proselytization is fine and converting them back ain’t ? What planet are we on. Is this not a typical secular view? Obama had no business calling regarding the Ghar Wapsi!!! If these folks are Hindu Fundamentalists, so the Christian Missionaries are Chrisitain Fundamentalists? and so are the Mullahs, Muslim Fundamentalists? You would not refer to them that way now would you? Chose your words carefully!!! Should I call you a presstitute as well? Is that how it goes? WHY IS GHAR WAPSI WRONG? When proselytization by Chrisitans and Muslims ok!!!!
Is this what Good Journalism is about? I am disappointed !!! This is not why I carry a paid subscription to print.
worst article written by worst writer of india…
bruh pakistani we know your country doesn’t has good writers.
What is good for India is always good for Modi.
A bigoted, leftist, sickular pseud calling Hindus “fundamentalists”. Typical of the libtards refusing to see and then allying with the real fundamentalists in the room.
Modi hating virus has completely damaged the minds of libtards. They now live in their make and believe world.
BJP is not dependent on American presidents to win elections, As far as fake secularism exists in this country, BJP will win,
Republicans are always better for India. Trump provided whole hearted support for India and cannot expect the same from Biden,
Biden opened his mouth on Kashmir, most likely influenced by the Urban naxal network in US , but someone advised him to keep his mouth shut, not to lose Indian American voters.
Why do you hate Modi so much !!!
vk: Modi facilitated a pogrom that led to thousands of innocent Muslims getting killed, raped and burnt to death. Indeed, Modi was persona non grata in most of the world – although his enabling of the massacre of Muslims made him your hero. What is there to like about this RSS pracharak ?
Prophet Muhammad has murdered thousands of people and you’ll happily die to support his 6th century views. RSS ideology lives in the soil, water and air of Indian subcontinent and is the future of present day India. You can’t live peacefully by hating RSS.
Where did you get this fake story???
Whatever you said were actually done by the Muslims against Hindus in Kashmir.
Biden will be good for traitor congress/left!
Is the writer suggesting that Modi holds personal relationships greater than the Nation? Just asking.
Just as love blinds, obsession also blinds. It is dangerous when obsession blinds experts. Personal bonding between National leaders work only so much. They are never the defining factor in relationships between Nations. I am sure the writer is in a better position to realize this than a nobody like me.
Don’t let obsession cloud your thought process. India will always remain greater than individuals. It has always been like that, you may already know.
This is a biased article.
Not only this, every print article is biased. It is left media, i just read their articles to laugh on their propaganda..
India needs a harmonious reset with the West in terms of the foundational values of liberal democracy that make it more of a natural, preferred partner than an economically far more successful China. Don’t expect recent statements from chief ministers of important north Indian states to add to India’s diplomatic capital with the United States. Nor is Indian hard power looking unbeatable at the moment.
So now Shivam Vij wants Biden help becuz he knows his Pappu can’t defeat Modi. What a joker