U.S.-India relations under President Obama

(C. Uday Bhaskar is a New Delhi-based strategic analyst. The views expressed in this column are his own)

By C. Uday Bhaskar

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Unbridled "hope" is the central motif of the swearing-in of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the U.S. on Jan 20 and the multi-layered expectations of both the people and the global community at large are at an all-time enthusiastic high.

On the eve of his swearing-in, Obama prudently referred to the 'false starts' that his tenure in the White House would have to endure and obliquely called for both patience and determination, and to stay the course as his team begins to clean the post-Bush stables as it were.

While the domestic U.S. agenda itself is daunting, given the scale and contours of the fiscal crisis, economic stagnation and unemployment figures, this is also the first time since the Vietnam War that the U.S. Presidential baton has been handed over when that nation is at war.

The current U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are high-priority for the White House and it is instructive that even as Obama is to be sworn in -- the U.S. Central Command Chief -- General David Petraeus is in Islamabad to consult with the top Pakistani leadership.

The Obama focus on South Asia and the Pakistan-Afghan linkage was spelt out in the course of the Presidential campaign and while this is yet to be translated into policy, this is an area of considerable relevance to India.

There has been some muted anxiety and disquiet in New Delhi that the Obama revamp of U.S. South Asia policy may adversely impact Indian interests - more so if there is an untenable linkage with the long festering 'Kashmir' issue.