{"id":1471724,"date":"2024-06-18T00:20:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T04:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1471724"},"modified":"2024-06-18T00:20:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T04:20:00","slug":"why-modis-india-is-suddenly-getting-washingtons-cold-shoulder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/why-modis-india-is-suddenly-getting-washingtons-cold-shoulder\/1471724\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Modi’s India Is Suddenly Getting Washington’s Cold-Shoulder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why Modi’s India Is Suddenly Getting Washington’s Cold-Shoulder<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Finian Cunningham,<\/em><\/p>\n

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be forgiven for thinking the United States has a schizoid view of his government and the world\u2019s most populous country.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Modi\u2019s narrow re-election this month was\u00a0greeted<\/a>\u00a0in the U.S. media with petulant satisfaction that Indian voters had \u201cwoken up\u201d,<\/strong> as an oped piece in the New York Times put it.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post\u2019s editorial board\u00a0rebuked<\/a>\u00a0Modi with the headline: \u201cIn India, the voters have spoken. They do not want autocracy.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Post editors went on to say that Modi \u201cwill lack a free hand for further repression of civil society, imprisonment of the opposition<\/strong>, infiltration and takeover of democratic institutions, and persecution of Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

That is quite a withering rap sheet for a political leader who not so long ago was given the VIP treatment in Washington.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other U.S. media outlets also sounded smug that India\u2019s legislative elections had returned a diminished majority for Narendra Modi\u2019s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The \u201cshock setback\u201d for India\u2019s strongman would mean that his Hindu nationalist politics would be restrained and he would have to govern during his third term with more moderation and compromise.<\/p>\n

The American media\u2019s contempt for the 73-year-old Indian leader is a dramatic turnaround from how he was lionized by the same media only a year ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back in June 2023, Modi was feted by U.S. President Joe Biden with a privileged state dinner in the White House. The Indian premier was invited to address the Congress and the media were rhapsodic in their praise for his leadership.<\/p>\n

Back then, the Washington Post\u2019s editors\u00a0recommended<\/a>\u00a0\u201ctoasting\u201d Modi\u2019s India, which Biden duly did at the White House reception. Raising a glass, Biden\u00a0said<\/a>: \u201cWe believe in the dignity of every citizen, and it is in America\u2019s DNA, and I believe in India\u2019s DNA that the whole world \u2013 the whole world has a stake in our success, both of us, and maintaining our democracies.\u201d With trademark stumbling words, Biden added: \u201c[This] makes us appealing partners and enables us to expand democratic institutions across, around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Modi may well wonder what happened over the past year. The Indian leader has gone from receiving the red carpet treatment to having the rug pulled from under his feet.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The difference is explained by the changing geopolitical calculation for Washington, which is not to its liking.<\/p>\n

It is not that the Indian government under Modi has suddenly become a bad strongman who has taken to trashing democratic institutions and repressing minorities.<\/strong> Arguably, those tendencies have been associated with Modi since he first came to power in 2014.<\/p>\n

The United States had long been critical of Modi\u2019s Hindu nationalism. For more than a decade, Modi was persona non-grata in Washington. At one stage, he was even\u00a0banned<\/a>\u00a0from entering the country owing to allegations that he was fanning sectarian violence against Muslims and Christians in India.<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s view of Modi, however, began to warm up under the Trump administration because India was seen as a useful partner for the U.S. to counter China\u2019s growing influence in the Asia-Pacific, a region which Washington renamed as the Indo-Pacific in part to inveigle India into its fold. To that end, the U.S. revived the Quad security alliance in 2017 with India, Japan and Australia.<\/p>\n

The Biden administration continued the courting of India and Modi who was re-elected in 2019 for his second term.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Biden\u2019s fawning over India culminated in the White House extravaganza for Modi last June when the U.S. media\u00a0championed<\/a>\u00a0the \u201cnew heights\u201d of U.S.-India relations. There were at the time residual complaints about India\u2019s deteriorating democratic conditions under Modi, but such concerns were brushed aside by the sweep of media eulogizing, epitomized by Biden\u2019s grandiloquent toasting of the U.S. and India as supposedly world-conquering democratic partners.<\/p>\n

It was discernible though that all the American charm and indulgence was setting India up for an ulterior purpose.<\/p>\n

In between the lines of effusive praise and celebration, the expected pay-off from India was that it would be a \u201cbulwark\u201d for U.S. interests against China and Russia.<\/p>\n

As a\u00a0piece<\/a>\u00a0in CNN at the time of Modi\u2019s visit last year in Washington asked: \u201cWill India deliver after lavish U.S. attention?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The article noted with some prescience: \u201cIndia and the U.S. may have different ambitions and visions for their ever-tightening relationship, and the possibility that Biden could end up being disappointed in the returns for his attention on Modi.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indian leader certainly did receive some major sweeteners while in the U.S. Several significant military manufacturing deals were\u00a0signed<\/a>\u00a0such as General Electric sharing top-secret technology for fighter jet engines.<\/p>\n

Still, despite the zealous courting of New Delhi, over the following months, the Modi government appeared not to change its foreign policy dramatically to suit Washington\u2019s bidding.<\/strong><\/p>\n

India has had long-held strained relations with China over border disputes and regional rivalry. Nevertheless, Modi has been careful not to antagonize Beijing. Notably, India\u00a0did not participate<\/a>\u00a0in recent security drills in the Asia-Pacific along with the U.S. and other partners.<\/p>\n

New Delhi has also maintained its strong support for the BRICS group that includes Russia, China, Brazil and other Global South nations advocating for a multipolar world not in hock to Western dominance.<\/p>\n

This traditional policy of non-alignment by India is not what Washington wants. It seems that Modi did not heed the memo given during his splendid Washington visit. He rebuffed the American expectation of steering India towards U.S. geopolitical objectives of toeing a tougher line against China and Russia.<\/p>\n

What seems to have intensified Washington\u2019s exasperation with Modi is the worsening proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. After two and half years of conflict, President Vladimir Putin\u2019s forces have gained a decisive upper hand over the NATO-backed Kiev regime. Hence, Biden and other NATO leaders have begun to desperately ramp up provocations against Moscow with recent permission for Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons to hit Russian territory.<\/p>\n

When Modi visited Washington last June, the West was (unrealistically) confident that the Ukrainian counteroffensive underway at the time would prove to be a damaging blow to Russian forces. Western predictions of overcoming Russian lines have waned from the cruel reality that Russian weapons and superior troops numbers have decimated the Ukrainian side.<\/p>\n

During Modi\u2019s state trip last year, Washington\u2019s focus was on getting India to act as a bulwark against China, not so much Russia. Modi has not delivered on either count, but the situation in Ukraine has cratered, from the NATO point of view.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Commenting on U.S. priorities last June, Richard Rossow of the Washington-based think-tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies,\u00a0said<\/a>: \u201cIf the invasion went worse for Ukraine, or was destabilizing the region, the Biden administration might have chosen to reduce the intensity of engagement with India. But the United States has found that nominal support to Ukraine, with allies and partners, has been sufficient to blunt the Russian offensive\u2026\u201d (How wrong was that assessment!)<\/p>\n

Rossow continued his wrongheaded assessment: \u201cRussia\u2019s ineffective military campaign [in Ukraine] has also underscored the fact that China presents the only real state-led threat to global security, and the United States and India are steadily deepening their partnership bilaterally and through forums like the Quad to improve the likelihood of peace and tranquility in the region. So long as this strategic relationship continues to grow, it is unlikely that a U.S. administration will press India to take a hard line on Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington and its NATO allies have got their expectations about Russia losing the conflict in Ukraine all badly wrong. Russia is winning decisively as the Ukrainian regime stumbles towards collapse.<\/p>\n

This is a double whammy for the Biden administration. China and Russia are stronger than ever, and India has given little in return for all the concessions it received from Washington.<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the American viewpoint, India\u2019s Modi has not delivered in the way he was expected to by Washington despite the latter\u2019s fawning and concessions. New Delhi has remained committed to the BRICS multipolar group, it has not antagonized China and it has not succumbed to U.S. pressure to condemn Russia. Far from condemning Moscow, India has increased its imports of Russian oil and gas.<\/p>\n

Now with the U.S. and NATO\u2019s reckless bet on Ukraine defeating Russia looking like a beaten docket, Washington\u2019s disappointment with India is taking on an acrimonious tone.<\/p>\n

In one year, Modi\u2019s India has gone from a geopolitical darling to a\u00a0target<\/a>\u00a0of U.S. recrimination over alleged human rights violations and democratic backsliding. It is not so much that political conditions in India have degraded any further. It is Washington\u2019s geopolitical calculations that have been upended. Hence the chagrined and increasingly abrasive attitude towards New Delhi from its erstwhile American partner.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nMon, 06\/17\/2024 – 20:20<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/geopolitical\/why-modis-india-suddenly-getting-washingtons-cold-shoulder<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why Modi’s India Is Suddenly Getting Washington’s Cold-Shoulder Authored by Finian Cunningham, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be forgiven for thinking the United States…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1471725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1471724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1471724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1471725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1471724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1471724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1471724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}