Anger mounts in New Delhi to US’s indifference to India’s concerns.
By Rajiv Theodore
NEW DELHI: Just when you thought that the jinx has lifted over relations between the two countries, India and the US has slipped to the edge yet again, threatening to slip into the abyss. The latest round being allegations of snooping against the Obama administration of individuals and entities in India which included the now ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP-led NDA government has been quick in response to the current challenge confronting the two countries of “surveillance” by the NSA on India’s right-wing nationalist party.
On Wednesday, India summoned a top ranking US diplomat and has sought an assurance that such events do not happen in the future which compromises the privacy of an Indian organization or an Individual. The identity of the US diplomat has, however, not been revealed yet. Now, the US has Kathleen Stephens as the interim ambassador after the exit of Nancy Powell after the Devyani Khobargade episode which coincided with the worst period of ties between the two nations.
It is well understood that India does not figure so prominently in Obama’s scheme of things as it is made out to be despite the rhetoric’s of a “defining partnership”. A string of developments such as US cyber snooping, the lack of response to requests for “data sharing” and the stonewalling of Indian demands to make Headley available for questioning has further strained the relations.
On the current episode, India had raised the issue with Washington as long back as in July last year when the first report emerged on how the NSA had spied upon the country’s individuals and entities but were yet to receive an American response on this.
Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who revealed about the snooping on BJP also had similar inputs on Lebanon’s Amal, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and the Pakistan Peoples Party who were all under surveillance according to the document made public on Monday by The Washington Post. It lists 193 foreign governments as well as foreign factions and other entities that were part of a 2010 certification approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
The U.S. overseas surveillance also trained their eyes on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff. On the other hand, U.S. companies like Microsoft and Cisco Systems have gone to the extent of warning that such acts could lead to customers shying away from U.S. vendors for fear of being spied on. Plagued by such concerns Germany dropped US giant Verizon Communications as a service provider.
Although it is not yet clear to what extent the BJP was spied upon by the Agency but it is intriguing that the BJP was not in power at that time and that the ruling Congress was out of this surveillance ring along with few other countries like Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
But what is clear is that just when Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares himself for a summit with President Barack Obama in September at Washington such incidents would only increase the bumps on the road to a smoother diplomatic journey between the two countries.
But could the US afford to side-line India at a time when the geo-political situation in South Asia and the Middle East is roiling Would the powerful business lobby ignore India, especially when the country seems to be lifting from the uncertain investment climes of the previous government and would it do any good to Obama (to sidetrack India) at a time when his popularity itself is nothing to write home about.