Last week US Secretary of state did a trip to Beijing, Surprisingly that was the second most Important event in USA Geopolitics, The most important one was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington D.C, Where he met US President Biden & gave a speech to congress.

“In the past few years there have been many advances in AI, Artificial Intelligence. At the same time there have been even more momentous development in another AI, America & India.”
– PM Modi addressing the US Congress.

Now the PM’s visit wasn’t a courtesy call, It included broad array of economic and military agreements. I am not going to list which agreements happened between the two countries. You have probably already heard it or seen it in a bunch of newspapers or TV channels about them.

I am here to talk about what’s behind the photo-ops and the curtains of this speeches and show-biz.

Why the two countries all of a sudden are looking each others as their partners in the past few years and what is prompting this visits and deals, despite the not so good past relations between the two democracies.

But the main question is: Should we call this increasingly deep and comprehensive partnership an “alliance”? While some argue that the Russia-China partnership should be termed an “alliance” due to its deepening and comprehensive nature, the situation between India and the U.S. is more complex. International relations scholar Paul Poast presents a compelling case for labeling the Russia-China relationship as an “alliance, “even in the absence of a traditional mutual defense agreement. A similar argument could potentially be made for India and the U.S., particularly if focusing solely on military cooperation and shared policies regarding China. However, several complicating factors come into play in this scenario. Firstly, India is still on fairly good terms with Russia. Secondly, the U.S. continues to pursue a friendly approach towards Pakistan, which has historically been considered India’s adversary. These factors indicate that while there is a growing convergence of interests between India and the U.S., Labelling it as “alliance” might not be just right yet.

But it’s obviously headed in that direction. Biden called the partnership “one of the defining relationships of the 21st century”, while Modi declared that “even the sky is not the limit.”

When it comes to the Modi’s visit to the US, The elephant in the room is China. Now I won’t say that’s the only reason; of course economic collaboration is also important one. But those two are not independent; In an ongoing attempt to “de-risk” more and more companies are shifting their manufacturing operations away from China, India has emerged as a promising alternative due to its vast labor force. Additionally, leaders in the United States recognize that a stronger Indian economy would contribute to a more balanced power dynamic in Asia, particularly in relation to China. Even without considering the China factor, both the U.S. and India are highly interested in gaining access to each other’s large and profitable markets.

The defense piece , is all about China & no one should pretend otherwise. Anyone who believes that China has no role on Modi’s red-carpet reception in Washington probably also believes that fish can fly. Currently China and not Pakistan is India’s biggest threat – India’s defeat to China in1962 war. China still claims pieces of Indian territory. The face-offs between the two armies that sometimes turn bloody & China encircling India with its bases & alliance. With Russia looking weaker, The United States is realistically the only country that can help India to resist domination from it’s giant neighbor. On the other hand, for USA , although no one expects India to jump in on a war over Taiwan or South china sea, The stronger India means more balance of power in Asia & One more country China has to think about other than USA.

Now not all are happy about this scheme of arrangement, Both on the US side as well as India side. On the U.S. side, some progressives are very upset about the prospect of an alliance with a country run by Narendra Modi, while on the Indian side, the shadow of U.S. support for Pakistan during the Cold War looms large.

Modi was welcomed with great enthusiasm by both Democratic &Republican leaders, However, a small faction of progressive lawmakers decided to boycott Modi’s speech, strongly criticizing the Indian Prime Minister’s track record on human rights. These concerns were echoed by progressive voices in the U.S. media, who view Modi as someone with anti-Muslim prejudices and perceive his actions as detrimental to India’s democratic principles.

In my personal Opinion The Americans are not that good at understanding any country’s politics let alone Indian politics. Their knowledge about Modi or India comes from the most natural source – Educated Indian progressives & educated Indian progressives, generally speaking are not that great admirers of Mr. Modi.

Indians too are vary of America, their continuous support to India’s enemy Pakistan. Pulling a blind eye to Pakistan’s terrorist activities & instead keeping up the supply of weaponry to them doesn’t go well with Indians too. While America lectures India on Human rights issues we all know what happened in Middle-east under their leadership, Most recent example being Afghanistan.

So there are obvious misalignment of thoughts between the two nations. But the Fruits of Partnership between the two countries outweigh those of differences .

If I were to comprehend this issue in one line, it would be “Both India &USA are choosing the lesser of the Evils.”

Both Countries; and more significantly India, are taking a leap and making a big compromise by allying with each other. Luckily for both countries this isn’t the worst alliance in history of Geopolitics. For the two nations, It makes sense to believe in each other. It will be easier for USA to persuade India’s leaders to be more liberal, as a friend and ally. And frankly, India might persuade USA to be a better country in certain ways as well. Fortunately, this appears to be exactly the approach both countries are taking.

In any case, I am more inclined to celebrate the US-India Partnership. There couldn’t be any more suitable countries than these two, who has the potential to promote Democracy, while also continuing to drive global economic development and also eradicating poverty.

GOOD LUCK TO INDIAMERICA!