Relations between the United States and India have been prickly for decades. But the prickles are being removed, America has dropped its objections to the sale of a Cray supercomputer to India, It has helped India to get $1.8 billion in credits from the IMF to pay for dearer oil. India, for its part, is allowing American military aircraft to refuel on its territory on their way to the Gulf.

The two countries have become friendlier because the Americans are looking at the subcontinent in a new way. Until recently Pakistan was considered a bulwark against Soviet expansion. The Americans provided a lot of military aid to shore up the bulwark. In practice much of this was used against India, which has fought three wars with its neighbor.

However, with the end of the cold war, and particularly the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan’s geopolitical weight has diminished. It had been promised American aid averaging almost $700m a year for six years starting in 1988. But the allocation this year has been slashed to $208m; and even this has been suspended because the United States fears that Pakistan may be making nuclear weapons, The fact that Pakistan has sent 11,000 soldiers to Saudi Arabia and has kept them there despite much pro-Saddam fervor back home-counts in its favor, and American officials expect that aid will eventually be resumed, But it will be much less than in the heady days before the Russians left Afghanistan.

As for India, America’s earlier worry that the technology of the Cray supercomputer might be passed on to the Russians no longer seems as pressing. And, seemingly to show that they want warmer relations with India, the Americans went out of their way to smooth things with the IMF. For help in meeting its increased oil-import bill, India had expected to get no more than $400m from the Fund’s Contingency and Compensatory Financing Facility. After America put in a good word it ended up with $1 billion, becoming the first poor country to get a loan from this source. It also got $777m as a stand-by credit, negotiated in the record time of six weeks,

India’s agreement to refuel American military aircraft has been a brave decision by the Chandra Shekhar government, Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress Party, which props up the minority government, says the decision conflicts with India’s non-alignment, and is a sell-out to America. V.P Singh, another former prime minister, has been equally condemnatory. Mr Shekhar claims that only aircraft with non-lethal cargoes (medicine and stores) are being refueled.

Mr Gandhi does not feel strongly enough about this to overthrow the government by removing his party’s essential support, Both he and Mr Singh want to milk what they call anti-imperialist sentiment over the Gulf war, and also to win Muslim support. Indian diplomats are eager to exploit the worsening of relations between the United States and Pakistan. But many Indians have yet to be convinced that America is no longer their enemy’s friend.

(The Economist)

(It is matter of great regret for Sikhs to note that all their efforts in lobbying Congressmen to bring to light atrocities against Sikhs and other minorities are in vain. The Sikhs have suffered much worse than the Kuwaitis and continue to do so but have yet to find a powerful benefactor to help them in their hour of need.)

Article extracted from this publication >> March 8, 1991