THE SLATEST

YOUR NEWS COMPANION BY BEN MATHIS-LILLEY

JAN. 23 2015 5:30 PM

Why Obamas Visit to India Is Such a Big Deal

By Joshua Keating

Get em while theyre hot! Kites printed with the portraits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and U.S. President Barack Obama, on sale in Hyderabad on Jan. 7, 2015.
Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images

What a dierence a year has made for the U.S. and India. In January 2014, U.S.
diplomats were being expelled from New Delhi amid widespread public outrage
over the treatment of an Indian diplomat in New York, marking the worst crisis in
relations between the two countries in years. Meanwhile, Narendra Modi, then-chief
minister of Gujarat and a candidate for prime minister, was still banned from entering
the United States on suspicion of complicity in atrocities.

JOSHUA KEATING

Joshua Keating is a sta writer at Slate foc using on international aairs.

But this weekend, President Obama will head to India, becoming the rst U.S.
president ever to make two visits to the country while in oce and the rst American
ever invited to be chief guest at Indias annual Republic Day celebration. The
symbolically important visit follows a productive and cordial couple of months in the
often fraught U.S.-India relationship since Modis election in May.
Advertisement
Its surprising that a relationship that had frayed under former Prime
Minister Manmohan Singha mild-mannered, Western-educated economisthas
been repaired under Modi, known, at least until a pre-election centrist rebranding, as
a hard-line Hindu nationalist. But close observers say Modis embrace of Obama was
inevitable, given his pledges to dramatically modernize and develop Indias economy.

Modi is a supreme pragmatist, says Sumit Ganguly, a professor of political science at

Indiana University and expert on Indian foreign policy. He wants to get certain things
done and recognizes the strategic importance of the United States. He may still harbor
some personal animus, but hes not going to let that get in the way of attracting more
investment from the United States or building a more robust security relationship.
The big breakthrough came last May, when, after years of being denied a visa to visit
the U.S., Obama invited him to Washington. (Modis visa ban stems from the 2002
Gujarat riots, in which more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed.
Modi, who was chief minister of the state at the time, was accused of failing to stop
the riots or even helping to provoke them with his rhetoric.) When Modi did nally
come to the U.S., he was rapturously received by a sellout crowd at Madison Square
Garden and met with the president at the White House. He was also met with protests
throughout his visit, and some protocol watchers in the Indian media interpreted it as
a snub that he was not invited to a state dinner.

If Modi was insulted, he brushed it o, inviting Obama to sit with him at the Republic
Day parade just a few months after their last meeting. The invitation of a U.S.
president breaks a kind of symbolic taboo, says Sadanand Dhume, a resident fellow
at the American Enterprise Institute. India, even though ocially nonaligned, has
tilted away from the U.S. for most of its independent history, even with the end of the
Cold War. Millions of people will watch this, and its sending a message.
Dhume says the speed with which Obama has reciprocated Modis overtures has
been striking. In addition to the concrete issues the two leaders may discuss, for
Obama the trip is an opportunity to demonstrate that while the administrations
planned pivot to Asia has been somewhat derailed by attention-sucking events in
the Middle East, it can still make progress on important relationships.
The visit will also help Modi distinguish himself from the Indian National Congress
party, who ruled India for most of its independent history, promoting a foreign policy
of nonalignment. Modis Bharatiya Janata Party isnt necessarily pro-American,
Dhume says, but it doesnt have that baggage. They dont have that much ideology
on foreign policy and dont feel the need to demonstrate that Indias not turning into a
U.S. vassal.
The Congress Party also isnt as reexively anti-American as it once was, but those
instincts havent gone away entirely, says Dhume, and in the last few months of the
Manmohan Singh government we started to see them creeping back a little.
Those instincts were on full display during the scandal surrounding Devyani
Khobragade, a deputy consul general at the Indian consulate in New York who was
arrested on visa fraud charges for paying her nanny far less than the legal wage stated
on her visa application. Khobrogades treatmentshe was arrested by the NYPD
while dropping o her daughter at school and strip-searched before being released on
bailwas a national scandal in India, and the Congress Party government, then
heading into elections, played up the nationalist furor to maximum eect, removing
security barriers from outside the U.S. Embassy and threatening to remove the
diplomatic immunity of American ocials.

One year ago today, that would have been the only thing anyone would talk about,
says Alyssa Ayres, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former
deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia, in a conference call with reporters.
It was a substantial rupture in the relationship for several months, and the normal
kinds of bureaucratic meetings that happen between the two countries werent taking
place. Thats no longer the case. Weve seen an uptick in conversation and diplomatic
dialogue.
Dhume says Modis political base is less receptive to appeals to anti-Americanism. In
many ways Modis constituency is the most naturally pro-U.S. constituency in India,
he says. These are a lot of young people living in cities. They tend not to view the U.S.
through an ideological lens.
Ganguly also notes that Modi is deeply beholden to the Indian business community,
and particularly some very large conglomerates who supported him in the election
and constitute a very power constituency in his party. If he cannot woo the worlds
most powerful economic partner, then he has a problem.
This, then, raises the question of whether the Obama visit will result in any concrete
announcements or is just an enormously important photo op. One area where real
movement is possible is climate change. Were unlikely to see anything as dramatic as
the U.S.-China emissions pact announced last yearIndia, which is still heavily reliant
on coal and considers itself well behind China in terms of economic development, has
been extremely reluctant to commit to capping its emissions. But Modi has
announced ambitious solar energy plans, and the two leaders agreed to cooperate
on promoting renewable energy during their White House meeting in September.
Theres also been speculation that the visit could include an announcement of U.S.
investment in Indias nuclear industry.
On trade, the U.S. and India already reached a breakthrough in November, and Modi
will be looking for the U.S. to make good on pledges to increase investment in the
country.

Defense issues will no doubt be central to the talks. India has ordered more than $10
billion in weapons from the U.S. over the past decade as it has sought to diversify its
supply away from its traditional military ally, Russia. Modi hasnt entirely cut Russia out
of the picture. Putin was in town last month, but the change in suppliers is likely to be
reected in the military hardware paraded before Modi and Obama in New Delhi next
week.
As a symbol of U.S.-India cooperation, the visit is also a signal to audiences in Moscow,
Beijing (India and China are locked a contentious and occasionally violent border
dispute), and of course Pakistan. Ganguly notes that the U.S. has been putting less
emphasis on relations with Pakistan as it has drawn down its presence in Afghanistan.
India has also been pushing to increase its economic and political presence in
Afghanistan, much to Pakistans chagrin.
The Pakistanis will be quite upset about this visit and will watch it very closely, says
Ganguly. The days when an American president felt compelled to also visit Pakistan
when he went to India are over. The Pakistanis have to come to terms with that, but
theyre not going to like it.

NEWS & POLITICS

POLITICS

JAN. 25 2015 10:19 PM

Best in Show
Wisconsins Scott Walker outshines the competition in Iowa.
John Dickerson

Democrats Assumed They Could Embarrass the GOP With Climate Science. Democrats
Were Wrong.
Republican Presidential Hopefuls Are Trying to Unlock the Secret of Winning in Iowa
Did the Charlie Hebdo Murders Really Represent Something New?
The Kentucky Senator Who Beat Mitch McConnell at His Own Game
The Seven Types of Cybercriminals
#MuckReads: Bad Science, Crazy Mining Laws, and Other Horror Stories
BUSINESS
MONEYBOX

JAN. 23 2015 7:41 PM

I Was a Flight Attendant, and I Also Thought SkyMall Was Incredibly Weird
Je Friedrich

Uber Study Finds Driving for Uber Is Great. Uber Study Is Flawed.
Can This One Weird Trick Save Europes Economy?
Delta Way Oversold Two Flights of People Heading to the Sundance Film Festival
Kids Birthday Parties Have Become Absurdly Extravagant. Heres How We Let It Happen.
Uber Raises Another $1.6 Billion in Funding, Because Why Not Have More Money
Tootsie Roll CEOs Death Shines Wall Street Spotlight on Secretive Candy Empire
LIFE
QUORA

JAN. 25 2015 7:11 AM

How Can I Get My Cat to Like Me More?

Quora Contributor

Are You Grilling Italian Sausages on Your Radiator? For the Love of God, Turn Down Your
Heat.
The Magnicent Ottoman Ruins of Ishak Pasha Palace
These Sleek PopUp Rentals Designed for Broke Millennials Redene Prefab Housing
I Am Ready to Declare a Truce in the Gay Cake Wars
A Close Reading of SkyMall
The InfoDense Maps Civilians Used to Follow WWII From the Home Front
DOUBLE X

THE XX FACTOR

JAN. 22 2015 12:21 PM

GOP Women Stopped the 20Week Abortion Bill. Thats Not Standing Up for
Reproductive Rights.
Amanda Marcotte

UltraOrthodox Women in Israel Are Treated Horribly. So They Started Their Own Party.
Boehner Applauded Equal Pay at Last Years State of the Union. Why Not This Year?
Obama Declares Child Care a Must Have
What Happens When Kids Eat Pizza
The Pope Tells Catholics Not to Breed Like Rabbits but Refuses to Endorse

Contraception
Sororities Want to Fight Sexual Assault By Throwing Their Own BoozeFueled Ragers
SLATE PLUS
TV CLUB

JAN. 25 2015 10:00 PM

The Downton Abbey Podcast, Episode 4

The Boom Goes the Dynamite edition.
Seth Stevenson and June Thomas

Jeremy Stahl on What Slate Stories Broke Facebook This Week

A SpoilerFilled Podcast on American Horror Story: Freak Show Episode 13

What Should Slate Do in 2015? Tell Slates Editor in Chief.

A SpoilerFilled Podcast on Downton Abbey Episode 3
ARTS
BROW BEAT

JAN. 25 2015 11:04 PM

Zachary Quinto and Neal Dodson on J.C. Chandor and Chandors Movie About the
BP Oil Spill
Forrest Wickman

Here Are the Winners of the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards

Zachary Quinto on Why He Wanted to Make a Movie About an ExGay Activist

Watch SNLs Hilarious Spoofs of Ballghazi and The Bachelor
Exploring Shanghai With Sidecar Motorcyclists
Michael Shannon and Ramin Bahrani on How Shannon Improvised His Last Line in 99
Homes
Listen to Four Five Seconds, the New Song By Kanye West, Rihanna, and Paul
McCartney
TECHNOLOGY
FUTURE TENSE

JAN. 25 2015 5:05 PM

This Weeks East Coast Blizzard Could Be the Biggest on Record

Eric Holthaus

State Department Wants Frozen PSAs About Climate Change

The Nerd Scare: How the U.S. Government Is Overreacting to Hackers and Journalists
People Who Are Great With Reading Social Cues Are Also Great With the Internet
Netix Says Piracy Is Still Its Biggest Competitor
Heres How Were Going to Solve the Global Chocolate Shortage
Hundreds of Private Jets Delivered People to Davos. Also, Its Climate Change Day at
Davos.
HEALTH & SCIENCE
MEDICAL EXAMINER

JAN. 25 2015 7:54 PM

The Myth of the Good Guy With a Gun

The NRA is wrong: Owning a gun is far more likely to harm you than protect you.
Evan DeFilippis and Devin Hughes

It Is Statistically Impossible for Mass Surveillance to Be an Eective AntiTerrorism Tool

Striking Sun Halo Display in Sweden (Photo)
Watch the Moon Get Squashed From Orbit
Shop SkyMall for Science That Is Decades Ahead of Regular Science
The AntiVaccine Movement Says Measles Isnt Dangerous. Oh, Yes, It Is.
Crash Course Astronomy Episode 2: NakedEye Observing
SPORTS
SPORTS NUT

JAN. 23 2015 7:19 PM

Dumb Luck
The New England Patriots prevention of fumbles is nearly impossible.
Warren Sharp

The Five Stages of Patriots Fans Ballghazi Grief

Why NFL Quarterbacks Should Be Allowed to Do What They Want With Their Balls
Why Bill Belichick and His Antics Make the NFL a Better Place
NFL Investigates Patriots for Possibly Tampering With AFC Championship Game Balls
The Gridiron Boudoir: A Totally Sensual NFL Erotic Fiction Series
Why Urban Meyers Ohio State Is Set to Be a Perennial Title Contender

Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. All contents 2014 The Slate Group LLC. All rights reserved.