BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES SPINNING A STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT: CONVERGENCES AND DIVERGENCES

Author: Narottam Gaan

DOI Link: DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2006v27n4a3

ABSTRACT

In the 1990s, India-U.S. relations witnessed a sea change with the demise of the Soviet Union -India’s main trading partner and most reliable source of economic and military assistance for most of the Cold War -and New Delhi’s resulting imperative to diversify its international relations. The end of the Cold War unburdened India-U.S. relationsfrom the constraints of infested global bipolarity, but interactions continued for a decade to be affected by the distrust of history, most notably the long standing India-Pakistan rivalry and nuclear weapons proliferation in South Asia. The September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States marked a change in American approach to terrorism and in attitudes towards India. Engagement was accelerated after a November 2001 meeting between President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee, when the two leaders agreed to greatly expand U.S.-India cooperation on a wide range of issues, including regional security, space and scientific collaboration, civilian nuclear safety, and broadened economic ties. Remarkable progress has since been made in the area of security cooperation, with an increasing focus on counter terrorism, joint military exercises, and arms sales. The Bush administration’s major first term diplomatic achievements culminated in Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP). In pursuance of this, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush signed an agreement on full civilian nuclear energy cooperation between the two countries, with Bush avowing to help India become a major world power in the 21stcentury. This paper studies the problems, challenges and constraints in Indo-US strategic partnership from different angles.