I n the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia, several American officials , both current and former , have publicly expressed displeasure at New Delhi’s continued dalliance with Moscow. In private, the comments of US officials were even harsher , especially because Modi’s visit coincided with the celebration of NATO’s 75th anniversary summit. This raises several questions about the state of India’s most important relationships and the choices that Indian security managers are making.
Despite US concerns, the state of the relationship is probably as good as it can be. Obviously, India gets to choose the kind of relationship it wants with the US and is plainly uncomfortable with the deeper security partnership that Washington appears to want. But the pace of the India-US relationship is clearly being dictated by New Delhi, as it almost always has been.
However, this method hasn’t been without its downsides. In the 1950s, Jawaharlal Nehru was unwilling to fully commit to partnering with the US against China, with predictable consequences. The current situation echoes that era, with the US seeking a deeper anti-China partnership and India demurring.
Hopefully, the consequences this time will be different from those under Nehru. Neither being a 5,000-year-old civilisation nor a rising power precludes strategic foolishness. Nehru’s India, after all, was the same 5,000-year-old civilisation and a rising power, and his foreign policy towards China (amon.
