As Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, the Nation not only fears for their own sake, but Indians also face uncertainty about how President Trump’s actions will affect our Country. A few weeks ago at an event organized by Indians, Trump said, “If I’m elected President, the Indian and Hindu community will have a true friend in the White House. That I can guarantee you.” While some do believe this, it is going to be a far cry from the relations that India had with USA a few years ago.
The sense of India having exceptional relations with the USA came when George W. Bush was the President of the United States. Bush supported India’s economic rise, believing it to be good for the World and not just as a competition to the rising power of China. This was the idea that pushed George Bush to make the nuclear deal with India without expecting any returns.
The ex-President Barack Obama, in first two years of his tenure, had thoughts of the making a G-2 deal with India. This he later gave up but still kept his attention on India. But the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a weak political administration which gutted the disastrous nuclear liability law and also other big policies. After the policies failed, Obama gave India the silent treatment, as he did not receive any results from Indian investments. The India-USA relations almost faded into oblivion until Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.
The PM who made a name for being extremely transactional and getting results, made sure that these ties are built back again. He fixed the nuclear liability deal which even though a commercial success will be signed by the end of 2017. This deal will seal the relations between the two countries clearing the bottleneck of unease.
Over the last two years, Modi and Obama met nine times. Not only for bilateral deals but also for global convergence and mainly climatic change meets. Now, seeing that President Trump is a businessman and also an accomplished deal maker, Modi’s meet with Trump is filled with high expections in both the nations. His statements about China and Pakistan being dual faced with India have already proven that he will have a tougher stance on both China and terrorism. But there are few issues that are expected to create a rift between India and Trump’s government regarding H-1B visas, trade and also investments. If Trump as he promised cuts down on the H-1B visas and lowers corporate taxes, that would be a problem for the Indian corporate companies present in the USA.
While there might be some troubles, with the intellect of Narendra Modi and the deal making capability of Trump it might turn out to be favorable for India.
