President Obama is on his second major visit to India, with a high probability of discussing a civil nuclear deal. The visit has been cut short to 3 days since the President will have to visit Saudi Arabia following the demise of its reformer King Abdullah. This means he won’t get time to check Taj Mahal and discussions would be to the point.
Obama’s visit follows a visit to India?by John Kerry, which focused on?business discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is believed that the current Modi-Obama meet will be quite significant.
This is the?first time that?the US President will?be the nation’s chief guest for?the Republic Day Parade. The Indian Republic Day Parade showcases its military strength, most of which is weaponry built in collaboration with Russia.
A few notable facts which make this visit strategic are as follows:
- India declared itself a non-aligned country during the cold war. However, it was clearly biased towards the Soviet because of which there have been hostilities between India and US.
- India refused to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty due to a hesitation to create nuclear “haves” and “have-nots.”
- At present, Russia is the largest supplier of arms for India. A few of the world’s controversial missiles India has have either been built in collaboration with Russia or gifted by it.
- Putin visited India in early December 2014 to discuss the exact same issues Obama is coming for. Furthermore, there was a lot of discussion between Russia and India during the BRICS meet which included China as well. These discussions excluded?the US.
- Modi is known to have an anti-American sentiment. This is possibly due to the fact that America banned his visit during the Bush administration, holding him responsible for the Gujarat massacre. However, prior to his becoming the Prime Minister, John Kerry cleared him.
Why should US be concerned?
It’s almost a cold war-like situation between US and Russia as of now. India gets almost all of its military equipment from Russia. Rather that is what would be showcased in the Republic Day parade. If everything goes in the right direction, this visit will help balance the Rusiian influence in India.
