Old friends yes, but are we real buddies?

Can the US and India be real friends? President Obama is visiting and the question is far from frivolous. Despite shared democratic values and institutions, the two countries have been at odds for much of India`s independent history. Can this visit be a turning point given the stated low expectations on either side? After all, some newspapers have devoted almost as much coverage to the hotel suites that Barack and Michelle Obama will be staying in Mumbai and New Delhi as to the substance of this visit.Comparisons with the sojourns of past American presidents, especially Bill Clinton, have not been wholly flattering.
Given this context, both questions assume significance. Much really depends on whether or not both sides prove able and willing to start dispelling the ghosts of the past. These ethereal fears stemmed from four important sources. The relationship was, until quite recently, bereft of much substance. India did not have a trade relationship worth the name with the US, American investment in India was negligible and India bought the bulk of its weaponry from the Soviet Union. On a less positive note, India did not pose a security threat to the US either. The US, as a consequence, could well afford to ignore India on most substantive issues. In turn, India felt as neglected as a jilted lover.
The lack of substance in the relationship had unfortunate consequences. Indian policymakers often became unduly vexed when some obscure member of Congress, in a crude attempt to pander to some segment or the other of their constituency, chose to introduce in Congress some non-binding resolution with a distinctly anti-Indian hue. This had little, if any, tangible consequences for India but even such superficial matters threatened to rent the gossamer-thin relationship.
India`s leaders, in turn, appeared to have an extraordinary ability to pique the United States needlessly. Unthinkingly, they would vote with a large Third World bloc in the United Nations General Assembly on matters of little significance to India but with a distinctly anti-American tint. These votes did little to endear India in US foreign and security policy circles.
These three factors generated a fourth. Permanent bureaucracies in both foreign policy establishments came to distrust each other deeply. They often assumed that small positive gestures were fleeting and of little value. Instead, they focused on and nursed past grievances and did little to find ways to let bygones be bygones.
President Obama`s visit offers the possibility of exorcising the ghosts that have long haunted the corridors of power in both capitals. Today, the relationship is laden with economic substance, diplomatic density and strategic significance. Neither side can easily afford simply to walk away in pique. The two countries need each other in a fashion that was just not the case in the Cold War era and in its immediate aftermath.
India`s policymakers have also become more inured to minor slights and careless statements on the part of representatives of distant corners of America. Nor are they ready to pounce on every American initiative in dealing with Pakistan, especially if it has limited implications for India. The pragmatism of India`s policymakers reflects a more mature relationship and a greater degree of self-confidence. Careless words and statements, unlike sticks and stones, can now be sloughed off.
India has also dispensed with its uncritical habit of gleefully supporting United Nations resolutions that are inimical to American interests. Instead, it has become more discriminating in its voting behavior and far less prone to hector the United States in other international forums. However, these habits have not been discarded altogether — just set aside, in some measure.
Residual distrust of each other`s objectives, motivation and strategies still lurks in the permanent bureaucracies in both capitals. However, these doubts and misgivings, once frequently at the fore, are receding. Key individuals in important positions, who have a high degree of familiarity with each other and have developed habits of cooperation, can actually propel the relationship forward rather than retard its progress because of long-standing concerns and anxieties.
The presidential visit then could be a catalyst. That is if President Obama while here publicly or privately, as appropriate, assuages lingering Indian concerns using superb oratory and quiet assurances. Sufficient goodwill exists, both amongst the Indian public and within policymaking circles, to dilute fears of American fecklessness and unreliability on a host of issues. Now, they urgently need some direction from the highest quarters that this relationship is durable, robust and of mutual benefit. One can only hope that President Obama, while in New Delhi, will do so.
The writer is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, Delhi