Author: Shivam Vij
Affiliation: The Print
Organization/Publisher: The Print
Date/Place: November 2, 2020/ India
Type of Literature: Article
Word Count: 1578
Link: https://theprint.in/opinion/joe-biden-president-good-for-india-not-for-narendra-modi/535649/
Keywords: Biden, Modi, U.S.
Brief:
The author analyses US foreign policy vis-à-vis India, if the Democrats’ candidate Joe Biden comes to power at the White House. The author opines that Biden as a President might not be the ideal result for the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but it would be good for India as a whole. While Modi has enjoyed a very personalized style of relationship with the Republican President Trump, this would not be the case with Biden. Historically, US-India relations have grown positively irrespective of who comes to power. However, Donald Trump, unlike other presidents in the past, chooses to ignore the Modi government’s communal and divisive politics and its crackdown on religious freedom and political opposition. Be it the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) or the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, Trump decided to leave it to the Modi government to make the right decisions. On the contrary, a Biden-led government would not let go of its allegiance to democratic values, as evident in the way Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have gone about in their election campaign. The Vice President nominee Kamala Harris has already expressed her stance on the Kashmir issue when she said that “We have to remind the Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world. We are keeping a track on the situation. There is a need to intervene if the situation demands.” While a Biden administration would be eager to see India’s vibrant democracy, the challenge for the Modi government would be to rise above domestic politics and think of the wider national interests, amidst a growing expansionist neighbor in China.
By: Usman Khan Pathan, CIGA Research Associate
