Over the past few days, a lot has happened for good in India-US relations. One, Sergio Gor’s visit to Srinagar, and his much-crucial comment on the contentious issue in India's favour. Two, the US President’s social media post mentioning India's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), while accolading and acknowledging the Indian elections and the use of Photo-Voter ID cards at such an enormous scale.
Indeed, both the above developments deserve to be taken in good taste in the country’s diplomatic, strategic, and democratic corridors, as they further reiterate the position that India has maintained on the sovereignty over Kashmir, and the commendable democratic progress made by the country in eight decades.
The United States has long portrayed itself, and more so under the current Presidency of Donald Trump, as an assertive global leader. And yes, to a great extent, there exists enough evidence to justify most of those bold claims. Home to the largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the world; an economy exceeding $30 trillion; a defence expenditure larger than the entire economies of several countries; a tech behemoth dominantly leading the innovation, AI, and semiconductor race; and a mighty player in soft power with a leading voice in international treaties and global organisations, the US has, yes, got the thing and how!
However, despite all this, do we really need to celebrate and cling on to the above two developments, the way we are? Well…not really.
For India, the bilateral relationship with Washington DC has ridden quite a rollercoaster ride in the last few years, especially following the aftermath of the Liberation Day Tariffs and Operation Sindoor. From seeing the absolute bonhomie between the two tallest leaders during the high-decibel 'Howdy Modi' and 'Namaste Trump' events, to witnessing the sharp decline in the diplomatic relations, with the US investing heavily, praising overwhelmingly, and repeatedly rolling out a red carpet for the Pak leadership multiple times in the last one year. Imposition of an unprecedented 51% tariffs on the Indian exports and meddling in India's internal affairs & strategic autonomy, particularly in regard to its strong relations with all-season, and evidently the most reliable partner, Russia, have just made things worse.
Notwithstanding the nadir in the relations, why do we keep giving the US a big-brother treatment? And why on the earth do we and the national media get blown away in awe, anytime a top US official passes a favorable comment on us! Case in point, don't we already know that entire Kashmir was, is, and forever be an integral part of India, illegally occupied by the western neighbour! Then why on the earth do we always want a validation from the US on our most sensitive internal issue? And worse, all this hullabaloo, even after being well aware of its historical war-time misadventures, tainted bilateral records, legacy of double standards, and the mercurial nature of its incumbent top leader?
No one's a ruler here in the global arena. And the world powers, including the leading voice of the Global South, India, must ensure that the US, should not let behave like one. Considering its military, economic, geopolitical, and technological might, and being home to over 14 mn Indians, indeed, New Delhi must attach utmost value to further bolster the India-US ties, and take every step in elevating the partnership to newer highs. But all this must be achieved with professionalism, not sycophancy; rational dialogue, not obsession; and a mature, long-term approach, not skewed, short-term. As ultimately, no matter what New Delhi does, expecting a generous, wholehearted reciprocation from the US will most likely remain a diplomatic illusion, and counting on them during an emergency, an unfortunate mistake.