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On his last day in India Jan. 27, President Obama used his address to a civic gathering to pull at the heartstrings of history but also address today’s tough challenges of social justice and political will that bedevil the workings of democracies. To soften the critique, he compared India to the United States on indices like persistent poverty, inequality, status of women, and racial bias, ills that plague both countries.
Despite the rain that dampened the parade, the historic symbolism and pageantry of Republic Day with an American president as chief guest was not lost. An excited Prime Minister Modi and a suave and indulgent President Obama made great optics for an eager nation under a new leadership that was willing to shed Cold War baggage and literally embrace a new paradigm.
“It was grand theater. And optics are very important because they send a signal to the bureaucracies to put flesh on the bones,” said Walter Andersen, director of the South Asia Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Through the three days, Obama’s tightly scheduled trip was spent largely among the hoi-polloi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and with CEOs from both countries. First Lady Michelle Obama was mostly invisible, skipping the traditional role as the extended arm of soft diplomacy. President Obama performed both tasks dealing with everything — from nuclear trade, defense and strategic cooperation to education and human rights.
Young Global Citizens
Speaking at Siri Fort auditorium in New Delhi to a relatively young audience, Obama told them they had to be the harbingers of change to build an economically successful but socially just nation. Making up the majority of the population under 35 he said, India is inheriting not just the opportunities offered by the growing Third World country, but also its ills. In the speech that was broadcast nationally on Jan. 27, President Obama dwelt on the diversity of people and religions and the need to protect the rights of individuals, a slanted critique of the latest conversions to Hinduism and communal disruptions, taking up the mantle of the American human rights lobby suspicious of lurking Hindu chauvinism behind the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its Hindu nationalist progenitor, the increasingly muscular Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh. He nevertheless praised India’s achievements in reducing poverty, having women in top positions in every sector, and its dynamic innovations in information and space technology, .
Both leaders took an element of risk according to Andersen. “Modi’s risk was on whether Obama would actually follow up and do something on the promises made,” Andersen said, “Obama took the risk that Modi would focus on development and not Hindutva,” which would sour the potential of the relationship.
“You’re the one who has to break down these old stereotypes and these old barriers, these old ways of thinking. Prejudices and stereotypes and assumptions,” the President told the youth.
Peppering his speech with references to Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda and Martin Luther King, President Obama appealed to the better self in the still caste-ridden and highly unequal country where more than half the population lives on a dollar or two dollars a day; where domestic workers and laborers are far from being considered equal; where communal violence is hardly unusual; where despite women’s visible achievements in business, technology, military, politics, and civil society, violence against women is widespread and a daily experience for many; an economy that shows disastrously high on the corruption index and low on ease-of-business index; and a “rising” power where power is frequently out.
“Bromantic” Diplomacy
Modi’s spontaneous hug at the airport, the two leaders sauntering in the gardens of the Hyderabad House and enjoying afternoon tea became the motif of the visit, outshining potential hard core achievements of the visit. Modi’s insistence on addressing President Obama by his first name while the President addressed him always as “Mr. Prime Minister” was noticeable. But the Indian leader’s visible enthusiasm was apparent and even disarming. It engaged the wider citizenry, not just talking heads and media, in what appeared like an equal and balanced relationship. There was talk of a brewing Bollywood-like “bromance” of “Mobama” on Indian airwaves.
“Barack and I have forged a friendship,” Modi said, “There is openness when we talk, and we even joke and share a lot together.” The bad blood over the State Department’s 10-year visa ban on Modi and last year’s arrest of an Indian diplomat at the New York Consulate appeared nonexistent in the face of Modi’s seemingly single-minded attempt to portray Washington as India’s closest ally.
To some extent, the U.S. administration is taken aback by the enthusiasm with which Modi grabbed the opportunity to do so. President Obama repeatedly expressed admiration for Modi’s “personal commitment” to strengthening the bilateral relationship.
Indian-Americans
Throughout the three-day visit, the President and Prime Minister made it a point to recognize the role Indian-Americans have played in raising the profile of the bilateral relationship. President Obama announced the Indian Diaspora Investment Initiative, a public-private collaboration that would allow Indian-Americans to directly invest in Indian businesses that may be going into non-traditional or often overlooked markets such as providing health care to rural communities or improving water and sanitation. The diaspora initiative, Obama said, could be “another spark” in India’s economic engine. “I know from talking with so many Indian-Americans that they are very excited about this opportunity. They’re ready to do even more to help unleash India’s success.”
Managing China
While there were no grand visions outlined by the two leaders, there was an underlying theme – the rise of China and what that means to the two countries. This emerged in the 2 joint statements that had to do with the balance of power in Asia, the (1) U.S.-India Joint Statement “Shared Effort; Progress for All,” and the (2) India-U.S. Strategic Vision for Asia Pacific, Indian Ocean Region, signed Jan. 25. The first recognized 58 areas of cooperation that covered everything from education, space exploration, economics and trade, defense technology exchange and co-production, homeland security and counter-terrorism, as well as the East Asia policy, and reinforced past stated U.S. support for India’s permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
The 2nd joint statement was more focused, defining goals in the Asia Pacific. “A closer partnership between the United States and India is indispensable to promoting peace, prosperity and stability in those regions,” it said. “We affirm the importance of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring freedom of navigation and over flight throughout the region, especially in the South China Sea,” it adds. With an eye to China it asserts, “We call on all parties to avoid the threat or use of force and pursue resolution of territorial and maritime disputes through all peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
According to Andersen, how to manage the rise of China is the underlying thread tying the two countries. “There was a necessary genuflection to the nuclear issue, but the relationship does not rest on it,” Andersen contended. Both leaders steered clear however, of any mention of a security agreement. Though Washington has pressed for a closer strategic partnership, “Anything that smacks of a treaty is a red line for Indians,” says Andersen, with the pragmatic Modi aiming to strengthen his trade relationship with China.
Serious Business
In the midst of all the pomp and pageantry as well as the goodwill, some serious economic and trade business was conducted. According to Obama there was a “breakthrough understanding” that would operationalize the virtually dead 2008 civil nuclear cooperation deal with India offering a government financed insurance cushion to bypass the nuclear liability law passed by its parliament. News reports also indicated New Delhi was open to more transparent tracking of the use of U.S. origin nuclear materials required by the 2006 U.S. legislation. However, there was all-round skepticism within the business community about the $122 million “insurance pool” as well as the nuclear materials tracking going by a Washington Post report. But a spokesperson for the National Security Council told the Post, “The United States is satisfied that the information we will receive . . . including through information exchanges and a consultative mechanism, will provide enough information to meet the requirements,” under U.S. law and by the Congress.
The 10-year Defense Framework Agreement was renewed and extended to co-development of weapons. The U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue was expanded to become the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue. Discussions on a bilateral investment treaty have been resumed.
On the climate change front, as expected New Delhi had no dramatic China- style carbon cap agreement, but the two countries agreed to “enhance” cooperation toward achieving a “successful and ambitious” agreement in Paris this year; cooperate on hydroflurocarons; expand joint clean energy R & D; and launch air quality cooperation for urban areas.
On trade and investment Obama announced a $4 billion investment package to jumpstart a two-way flow of FDI. Of all America’s imports those from India make up a sorry 2 percent. But even as he praised the $100 billion trade between the two countries, he noted trade with China equalled $560 billion annually. “I think everybody here will agree, we’ve got to do better,” he said at the CEO Summit. Modi conceded there were obstacles to foreign investment, but promised to personally intervene when it came to large projects.
At the more exclusive CEO Roundtable attended by a select 40 or so business persons, Obama and Modi heard the concerns that included lack of effective intellectual property protection, consistency and clarity in the regulatory and tax environment in India, among others. The CEOs also made known their interest in U.S. immigration reform. But Obama cautioned them his executive actions would not be enough to attract high-skilled workers. That would take action by Congress. He also noted that a bilateral investment treaty will be challenging.
“The goal on both sides is to slash red tape,” but have a good regulatory framework, Obama said.”We’ll hold ourselves accountable,” the President promised, adding, “We look forward to doing business with India.”