• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Towards a win-win partnership

B. S. Raghavan

IT IS not necessary to load this article with statistics to make the well-known point that the US is the one country on whose economic might and inherent generosity India has drawn the most ever since its Independence. There are plenty of data on trade, business, commerce, financial flows, emergency aid, the history of technical collaborations, scientific and technological exchanges, and the number of Indian students joining the US universities to prove the natural attraction of both countries for each other.

Of course, as is the wont of vocal and vociferous democracies, they indulge in spats over something or the other from time to time. The Cold War period was particularly marked by some unpleasant episodes brought on by self-righteous stances by India and paranoidal petulance by the US. Those years are now happily a rapidly fading memory. The US has more than made up for any past omission or commission by unequivocally standing by India in getting rid of the Pakistani incursion in Kargil, and making it cl ear to Pakistan that it would pay dearly for any such wilful aggression in the future.

Inspired exercise

The Indian odyssey undertaken by the US President, Mr Bill Clinton, in March 2000 was nothing short of an inspired exercise in building bridges. The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee's gesture of returning the visit, despite the disabling knee-pain from which he was so obviously suffering, and the manifest affection and deference shown to him, including perhaps the largest reception of his presidency hosted by Mr Clinton at the White House in his honour have touched the hearts of even those who us ed to entertain reservations about the two countries ever coming together on the basis of compatibility of interests and convergence of objectives.

The entire mood on both sides, during and after these visits, underwent a spectacular and magical transformation, placing the relationship on the broad sunny uplands of trust and confidence.

Both countries have realised the vital role they can conjointly play in bringing into being a harmonious and accommodating world order, taking advantage of the phenomenal advances in information technology and interdependencies of the global village. Has tening the process is the similarity of approaches to issues and interests, such as safeguarding environment, upholding freedom, human rights and democracy, promoting sustainable development, eradication of poverty, removal of visible and invisible barri ers to trade, fostering competitive markets, rooting out terrorism and the like.

The synergy of India and the US, acting in unison, can impart a powerful forward thrust to the ongoing efforts to knit the countries of the world into a mutually helpful brotherhood.

Tremendous opportunities loom for forging new bonds of solidarity between the two countries on an ever-widening front. Indeed, considering the vast unexploited potential and the shared values of these two great democracies, the vistas of a win-win partne rship opening up before them are practically unlimited in scope and scale.

While personal equations between decision-makers and people-to-people contacts have their undoubted importance, it will be unrealistic to depend on them alone to put relations among nations on a strong and stable footing. They have to be nurtured by righ t and far-seeing policies and congenial and effective institutional mechanisms, which will stand the test of time, independent of personalities and mood-swings.

Durable pathways

Among the durable pathways for a successful and mutually beneficial partnership, the ones most likely to bear fruit are the following:

*Practice of quiet, discreet diplomacy. Many of the problems causing a face-off between India and the US in the past were the result of public figures in decision-making positions freely and prematurely airing their views in public on sensitive issues. T his provoked a chain reaction of ripostes and counter-ripostes, entangling egos and militating against a flexible and pragmatic solution.

The Wilsonian doctrine of open covenants being openly arrived at is inapplicable to complex, cross-cultural conflict resolutions. Tact, finesse, discretion, deftness and openness to fresh ideas should be the watchwords for both countries in solving thorn y issues. The communications revolution, including video-conferencing, makes it possible for functionaries at all levels to be on one-on-one hotlines at will without having to bring contentious issues into the open.

*No recourse to unilateral punitive measures and no resort to laws with extra-territorial jurisdiction. The US has a long history of writing into laws penal provisions and sanctions meant to discipline other countries for behaviour it considers bad. Ther e is still this streak in its mindset because of which it is unable to shake off its compulsive urge to act as the world's policeman.

The US should learn to regard as its equal a large democracy like India which, in its heyday some centuries ago, was as much of a magnet as the US is today for those in other countries of the world in quest of opportunity and wealth. How would the US lik e it if India, for instance, passed a law imposing its own judgment of right and wrong on US policies and lifestyles and subjecting it to sanctions?

*Precedence to economics, short-shrift to politics. Economic issues are increasingly edging out purely political aspects of relations between countries. Even within countries, politics in the conventional sense is coming to be dominated by economics. Eco nomic health of a country is the most effective antidote for narrow, partisan politicking.

Because of the interconnectivities of the knowledge-cum-information age, and the velocity, volume and variety of transactions, a growing proportion of which taking place online, no country is an island unto itself, and the economy of every country is bou nd up with that of every other. India and the US have much to gain by consigning politics to the backburner, and strengthening their economic ties in all possible ways.

This is where clear-headed vision and sure-footed approaches by chambers of commerce and industry are called for. The highest priority should be given to (a) promoting business-to-business linkages, (b) taking full advantage of the openings provided by e conomic liberalisation, (c) accelerating and expanding capital flows, (d) uncovering new potential by capitalising on technological advances, (e) removing visible and invisible barriers to trade, (f) providing ready and easy access to products and servic es, and (g) facilitating unhindered mobility of talents and technologies.

*Maintaining constant exchange of views and ideas on matters of common interest. The two nations should avoid the mistake of getting into the consultations mode only when a crisis is in the offing. Keeping each other constantly informed in advance of the ir respective perceptions on existing or emerging problem areas is a sure-fire recipe for close understanding and concerted action not only to resolve differences between themselves but also to mobilise world opinion on matters of general importance.

*Creation and operation of a Common Fund. It will be well worth their while for business-houses, academic institutions, Indians resident in the US and the two Governments themselves to pool their resources for the establishment of a Common Fund of around $100 million (to start with) which can be used to give a fillip to activities that enlarge the space for mutual cooperation, collaboration and coopetition in a number of directions.

For instance, the Fund will come in handy as a source for venture capital for entrepreneurs; to reward and help commercialise innovative processes and products; to inculcate in the youth a spirit of adventure to advance towards new frontiers in knowledge , science and technology; and to encourage policy studies to enable Governments and businesses to be forewarned and forearmed with a broad spectrum of options, strategies and solutions.

To sum up, India and the US, as two democracies made for each other, can greatly contribute to the well-being of the world by forming a grand alliance capable of taking giant leaps forward.