THE recent trip to New Delhi by United States President Barack Obama is a testament to the growing India-US ties after decades of mistrust ("Obama's India visit a 'sign of growing affinity'"; Sunday).
It is a stark reminder of the efforts made by both sides to get to where they are today. Previous high-level visits by US leaders to India mostly ended up as mere "diplomatic window dressing" with not much achieved.
The visit by Mr Obama, however, has seen the leaders agreeing to renew the defence cooperation pact and ironing out differences over nuclear cooperation, paving the way for US firms to invest in nuclear power plants in India.
If India wants to leapfrog into the era of high technology and clean energy, it must forge a robust and multi-pronged partnership with the US.
American fever is prevalent in India today, with young middle-class Indians aspiring to seek greener pastures in the US, and parents dreaming of marrying off their daughters to men working in the US.
However, many Indian politicians, especially those from the leftist parties, enjoy indulging in double talk when it comes to getting closer to the Americans.
I hope Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will make sustained efforts to forge a broader political consensus in New Delhi as it pushes ahead with ties with Washington.
Also, India-US ties should not be a zero-sum game directed against any third party, notably China.
New Delhi has always taken pride in pursuing an independent foreign policy. Thus, I am confident that India will not be drawn into any "China containment" moves.
New Delhi is now more confident in its dealings with China, which has shown increasing assertiveness.
With Sino-US ties now the most important bilateral relationship in the world, neither Washington nor New Delhi would want to rock the boat when it comes to Beijing.
K. Sabehshan
It is a stark reminder of the efforts made by both sides to get to where they are today. Previous high-level visits by US leaders to India mostly ended up as mere "diplomatic window dressing" with not much achieved.
The visit by Mr Obama, however, has seen the leaders agreeing to renew the defence cooperation pact and ironing out differences over nuclear cooperation, paving the way for US firms to invest in nuclear power plants in India.
If India wants to leapfrog into the era of high technology and clean energy, it must forge a robust and multi-pronged partnership with the US.
American fever is prevalent in India today, with young middle-class Indians aspiring to seek greener pastures in the US, and parents dreaming of marrying off their daughters to men working in the US.
However, many Indian politicians, especially those from the leftist parties, enjoy indulging in double talk when it comes to getting closer to the Americans.
I hope Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will make sustained efforts to forge a broader political consensus in New Delhi as it pushes ahead with ties with Washington.
Also, India-US ties should not be a zero-sum game directed against any third party, notably China.
New Delhi has always taken pride in pursuing an independent foreign policy. Thus, I am confident that India will not be drawn into any "China containment" moves.
New Delhi is now more confident in its dealings with China, which has shown increasing assertiveness.
With Sino-US ties now the most important bilateral relationship in the world, neither Washington nor New Delhi would want to rock the boat when it comes to Beijing.
K. Sabehshan
