How India and the US can enhance relations

As the two democracies – India and the US -- come closer, increased parliamentary exchanges will help consolidate the relationship, says Rup Narayan Das

On Monday the hallowed Central Hall of Parliament will play host to the US President Barack Obama symbolising the growing synergy between world's two largest and most robust democracies.

It is an honour which is extended to heads of state very sparingly. President Obama's predecessor George W Bush did not have this honour, which was extended to President Bill Clinton in 2000.

President Obama's visit to India is taking place in the backdrop of his party having suffered electoral defeat in the mid-term polls. It is reassuring, however, that over the years there has been a bipartisan support to India in the US Congress.

The attitude of the US Congress, the basic law-making body in the US, and its committees, including the influential Senate's Foreign Relations Committee is of critical importance for US policy and attitudes towards India, a resounding example of which is the Indo-US Nuclear deal.

In the bilateral relationship between the two countries, the Indo-US nuclear deal is unprecedented. India's nuclear explosion in 1974 had soured the relationship between the two countries and the US Congress retaliated by passing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978 imposing tough new requirements for US nuclear exports to non-nuclear weapon states and providing full scope safeguards and termination of exports if such a state denotes a nuclear explosive device or engages in activities related to acquiring or manufacturing nuclear weapons, among other things.

The United States created the architecture of the Nuclear Supplier Group in 1975 to help ensure that nuclear transfers would not be diverted to un-safeguarded nuclear plants. History was rewritten when the same US put all its clout at the NSG to get a nod for the Indo-US nuclear deal and President Bush put his best foot forward to facilitate a smooth passage of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The passage of the US-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, also known as the 123 Agreement on September 28, 2005, in the House of Representatives and earlier in the all powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee was unprecedented which demonstrated bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. The Bill got a 298-117 backing from the House. The tally was only marginally more than the two-thirds benchmark in the 435 House

The Bill received overwhelming support in the House because of sustained canvassing and campaigning by the Congressmen sympathetic to India and proactive role of the Indian-American Community.

Although the role of Congress in the subcontinent can be traced back to as early as 1924 when the Congress applied that Hindus were ineligible for citizenship on grounds that they were not white persons, the Congress like the executive arm of the US have had relegated India to the region of peripheral interest.

The reason for this was that South Asia and India for that matter did not assume strategic and economic importance as they do in the new millennium. It is only with the tectonic shift of the word economy from Europe and the West to Asia Pacific that the US has started showing active interest in the region and India as well.

At a time when the economy of the Asia Pacific region is growing at the average 8 percent and India even higher than that, the US could hardly ill afford to ignore India. The strategic dimension with the disintegration of Soviet Union and phenomenal rise of China have impelled the US to pay greater attention and interest that India deserves. What provides icing on the cake for this geo-strategic calculus is the hallowed values of democracy which the two countries cherish so eloquently.

The catalytic role of the articulate Indian-American community has only provided an impetus to this American rediscovery of India. From hostility, indifference and benign neglect, the attitude of US Congress to India has culminated in proactive engagement. Nothing is more illustrative of this change of heart than the passage of Indo-US nuclear deal.

In the past the attitude of the US Congress has been hostile and not helpful to India's concern and interest. In order to neutralise their negative impact and to create a positive vibe, a bipartisan 'Caucus of India and Indian Americans' and formed with nearly 50 members of the House in February 1993. One of the few Congressional organisations dedicated to promoting relations with a single country, it was co-chaired by Democratic Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey, a district with a significant Indian-American population. It augurs well that Pallone has been returned to the House of Representatives in the reconstituted House. The India Caucus is the largest country caucus in the US Congress.

It is unfortunate that in spite of convergence on many issues, there has been very little interaction at parliamentary level between the two countries. While the Commonwealth provides a regular institutional mechanism for its members drawn from different continents, the US and India do not share such a regular institutional mechanism to share and exchange views.

There have been very few exchanges of parliamentary delegations between the two countries. Now that the presiding officers of the two Houses of Indian Parliament happen to be seasoned diplomats and former members of Indian Foreign Service, this neglected aspect can be taken care giving new diminution to what is euphemistically called parliamentary diplomacy.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, and former additional director, research, in the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

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