India-U.S. divergences require deft diplomacy

By C. Uday Bhaskar

The current visit to Delhi by U.S. Under Secretary of State William Burns marks the first high-level official interaction at the bilateral level after the Obama transition to the White House in January this year.

Concurrently it is the first major U.S. dialogue with the new government in Delhi - albeit being led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for a second successive term.

But UPA has a different coalition identity from its predecessor and this has its own relevance in the bilateral context.

The Burns visit will explore the complex bilateral canvas to prepare for the July visit to India of U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton when major policy initiatives and divergences will become more apparent.

The India-U.S. relationship has entered a qualitatively new phase after the successful completion of the Bush-Manmohan Singh civilian nuclear cooperation agreement in September 2008.

The strategic and bilateral context against which this was pursued during the Bush years underwent a major transmutation. The three events that followed – the financial meltdown that exposed U.S. fiscal flaws; the spectacular Obama victory of early November; and the Mumbai militant attack of late November 2008 – now provide the immediate backdrop to the potentialities and pitfalls inherent in the India-U.S. bilateral relationship.

In the intervening months, President Obama has unveiled a new policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan - the much debated and analyzed "Af-Pak" construct.

India is not formally part of the U.S. formulation of the troubled Southern Asian region but despite this exclusion, the unwritten sub-text is very clear.