It will take some time to assess the true impact of Indian prime minister Rao’s visit to this country. Whatever material is available on the issue, it suggests an alarming fall to the traditional strength of the U.S. as a nation. The mighty U.S.A. finds it hard to deal effectively with a poor, third world nation utterly dependent on this country in a thousand and one respects. President Clinton had to sacrifice a great deal while talking to Rao on issues ranging from human rights to nuclear proliferation. President Clinton made shocking statements on India’s human rights record in Kashmir and Punjab to humor the Indian prime minister. The Asia Watch rightly took note of the American administration’s climb-down on the rights is- sue. No less significant was Rao’s evasive attitude to- wards that country’s mad obsession to acquire nuclear weapons and systems of delivery. Rao could get away with all this because the U.S.A. ‘s big business is clamoring to reach the Indian market. The administration had to pander to the Indian stand on almost all issues in response to the pressure from business houses. What is comforting is that the U.S. Congressmen and Senators were not taken in by the Indian prime minister’s empty rhetoric and the U.S.A.’s free media almost totally ignored the Indian Hitler even while thousands of Sikhs and Kashmiris showed Rao a bit of their minds on what they thought of him and his handling of the rights issue.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 27, 1994
