We may not realize it, but International Relations play amassive part in our day to day lives. From the availability of products to thepresence of peace in our society, it all boils down to the relationship betweencountries. A country with poor relations cannot provide it’s populationadequate means to gain a high standard of living, due to the lack of resourcescaused by poor international relations.
A prime example of this situation isNorth Korea, whose population is unable to have any sort of freedom to expressitself. For the purpose of this study, I was intrigued to find outinteresting facts between two prominent countries in the world, namely Indiaand USA. India and USA have usually had one of the most stable relationships,except for a few years in the 20th century. One of the most uniquefacts about this relationship is that USA is the world’s oldest constitutionalrepublic and India is the world’s largest republic, at present.
Increase in bilateral trade & investment, cooperation on global securitymatters, inclusion of India in decision-making on matters of global governance(United Nations Security Council), upgraded representation intrade & investment forums (World Bank,IMF, APEC), admission into multilateral export control regimes (Nuclear Suppliers Group, MTCR, Wassenaar Arrangement, Australia Group)and joint-manufacturing through technology sharing arrangements have become keymilestones and a measure of speed and advancement on the path to closerUS-India relations. In thispaper, we will dive deeper into the relations between the two countries toprovide an understanding to the readers about the various things that affectinternational relations, as well as come up with solutions in order to ensurethe stability and growth of these relations. ORIGIN AND NATURE During the days of British Raj, India and USA did not have alot of interaction, and hence, they didn’t have much of a relationship. However,things started to change when World War II entered the picture. In the waragainst Japan, India became the main base for the American China Burma IndiaTheater (CBI). Serious tension erupted when President Franklin D. Rooseveltdemanded that India should be given freedom.
This demand was immediatelyrejected by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who even threatened to resign ifRoosevelt didn’t back out of his demand. Post independence, India and USA didn’t have the best ofrelations. This was mainly due to USA’s closeness with India’s rival, Pakistan.Pakistan was part of the US-led made Western Bloc. Furthermore, during the coldwar, India adopted a non-alignment policy, meaning it will be a neutralthroughout the war.
However, Indian relations with the Soviet Union were good.The American officials were not happy with India’s stance during the Cold war,and stated that neutrality is not an acceptable position. President JawaharlalNehru was persuaded to join the diplomatic side, but he refused. These relations took a turn in 1950, when India turned toAmerica for aid due to poor harvests in their country.
For the first 12 yearspost independence, USA provided India with 1.7 billion dollars, including 931million dollars worth of food. In 1961,the US pledged $1.0 billion in development loans, in addition to $1.3 billion of free food.
In 1959,President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to visit India. In1961, President John F. Kennedy saidthat he considered India to be an important strategic partner and counterweightto the rise of Communist China. However, after the Kennedy assassination, Indiaand USA’s relations deteriorated slighty. Even though his successor LyndonJohnson wanted to maintain good relations with India, his main aim was tostrengthen ties with Pakistan, as well as weaken India’s growing army.
In the next presidency, the relationship between India and USA was atits worst. President Richard Nixon established very strong ties with Pakistan,providing it with financial and military aid, whereas Indian President IndiraGandhi maintained close relations with the Soviet Union. In the late 1970s,with the anti-Soviet Janata Partyleader Morarji Desaibecoming the Prime Minister, India improved its relations with the US, now ledby Jimmy Carter,despite the latter signing an order in 1978 barring