Hillary vs Trump,who would have been better for India

FUTURE OF INDO-US RELATIONS

Trump or Hillary, things won't change between India and U.S.

Irrespective of the change in leadership, relations between the two nations are strong enough to weather through the personal discretions of its leaders.

The elections in the United States have become an increasingly popular spectacle as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump vie for the leadership of the land of the free and the world of the brave. The rest of the world watches on with incredulity. The elections are closely followed in India to glean how they will affect relations with the country. Historical baggage and the role of the Indian American diaspora are important factors. However, contrary to popular belief, the choice between Clinton and Trump remains immaterial for Indian foreign policy, because of relations between the two largest democracies in the world stretch beyond leaders.

As the executive head of one of the great powers in the world, the choice of the U.S. President is seen as having repercussions on the rest of the world. During the Cold War, there remained an impression that India’s relations with America fared better when a Democratic president was at the helm exemplified by the Kennedy administration and Chester Bowles, the American ambassador to India in 1951 who was vocal about the natural affinity between India and America when the tide of opinion was against India in Washington. On the other hand, Presidents such as Johnson and Nixon were seen as villainous because of their policies. However, at the end of the Cold War, Republican presidents were seen as better for relations for India despite their nature of their policies on U.S. domestic front. This is epitomised by George W. Bush who is arguably, one of the least popular presidents of the U.S. Still, it was Bush who signed the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, affirming India as a ‘responsible nuclear power’.

However, the Republican v/s Democrat debate with respect to relations with India has little relevance now. Since the Clinton Administration, relations between India and the U.S. have warmed up to a scenario where the idea of estranged democracies seems implausible. The Obama Administration continued with Bush’s legacy with regard to India, by strengthening ties between the two countries on a variety of fronts including defence, economy and terrorism. Therefore, the next President of the U.S. will have inherited a foreign policy towards India that has been on an upturn for at least a decade now.

Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, during the first term of the Obama Administration, was one of the mastheads of the ‘Pivot to Asia’ strategy and had even served as the Head of the Senate India Caucus. This has found favour amongst several Indian strategists. At one point, Clinton was even dubbed ‘the Democrat from Punjab’ because of her close ties with Indian Americans. Donald Trump, on the other hand has little experience with foreign policy and has made little more than ambiguous statements about foreign policy. Trump has made unpopular speeches about immigration, which could affect the debate on H1B visas, a sticking point in Indian-American relations.

On the other hand, he has mentioned that India is an important factor in countering terrorism in Pakistan and even briefly praised the Indian economy. However, these statements can barely qualify for a coherent foreign policy.

Irrespective of the change in leadership, relations between India and the U.S. are strong enough to weather through personal discretions of the U.S. President. Politicians often develop selective amnesia about previous statements — consider for example, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visa ban and deplorement by several U.S. politicians (including Hillary Clinton) until he became the strongman of Indian foreign policy in 2014. Therefore, it is unlikely that either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton can drastically change the tone of engagement with India. On the other hand, let us not allow a decade of friendly relations to discount changing geopolitics. India and America might be forced to part ways from their current state of ‘natural allies’. While the foreign policy may differ from the lines of the Obama administration, we cannot attribute this change to the leader at the helm alone.

VIA-THE HINDU NEWSPAPER