Having been under colonial rule from 1958 to 1947 and the British influence and control through the East India Company from 1600 to 1857, India justifiably was suspicious of the West following Independence in 1947. East India Company officers who became advisers to the Mogul Emperors in India of course took over the administration which eventually led o the annexation of India to Britain and installing Queen Victoria as the Empress of India.
Prime Minister 'Chacha' Jawaharla Nehru made India non-aligned and at the same time made defense pact with the Soviet Union which became the key supplier of military hardware to India until its fall in 1989. Chacha Nehru's government also asked the British corporations and personnel to leave India in 1956. Following his death, Coca Cola and IBM also left in the 1970s instead of sharing their formulas and software with India.
Fast forward to 2000 and President Bill Clinton's visit to India which has brought India and the United states close at an accelerated speed. There are strategic partnerships and initiatives between the two countries under President George W. Bush and President Obama on the American side and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in the areas of energy, environment, defense, education, technology, trade, etc.
Another indicator of American and Indian closeness is the degree of American intellectual influence on Indian policy under UPA II in the government headed by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. There are thirteen ministers and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission in the Union government in July 2013 of which 5 are British educated and 9 American educated: Economic, budget and tax policy (Dr. Manmohan Singh (UK), Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia (UK) and Shri P. Chidambaram (USA)), foreign policy (Shri Salman Khurshid (UK)), education Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju (USA)assisted by Dr. Shashi Tharoor (USA)), law ( Shri Kapil Sibal (USA), civil aviation (Shri Ajit Singh (USA), urban housing and poverty alleviation (Dr. Girija Vyas (USA), rural development (Shri Jairam Ramesh (USA), development of north eastern region (Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar (UK)), power (Shri Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia (USA)), corporate affairs (Shri Sachin Pilot (USA), shipping, communications & information technology (Shri Milind Murli Deora (USA)), and health and family welfare (Shri Abu Hasem Khan Choudhary UK and Canada).
This is perhaps the first time since 1947 when so much American thinking is guiding India. Of course Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and many other Indian independence movement leaders were educated in the U.K.
Future blogs will look into the implications of close and strategic relationship that has grown between the United States and India since 2000 and disproportionate American intellectual influence on India compared with any other country in 2013.
Prime Minister 'Chacha' Jawaharla Nehru made India non-aligned and at the same time made defense pact with the Soviet Union which became the key supplier of military hardware to India until its fall in 1989. Chacha Nehru's government also asked the British corporations and personnel to leave India in 1956. Following his death, Coca Cola and IBM also left in the 1970s instead of sharing their formulas and software with India.
Fast forward to 2000 and President Bill Clinton's visit to India which has brought India and the United states close at an accelerated speed. There are strategic partnerships and initiatives between the two countries under President George W. Bush and President Obama on the American side and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in the areas of energy, environment, defense, education, technology, trade, etc.
Another indicator of American and Indian closeness is the degree of American intellectual influence on Indian policy under UPA II in the government headed by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. There are thirteen ministers and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission in the Union government in July 2013 of which 5 are British educated and 9 American educated: Economic, budget and tax policy (Dr. Manmohan Singh (UK), Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia (UK) and Shri P. Chidambaram (USA)), foreign policy (Shri Salman Khurshid (UK)), education Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju (USA)assisted by Dr. Shashi Tharoor (USA)), law ( Shri Kapil Sibal (USA), civil aviation (Shri Ajit Singh (USA), urban housing and poverty alleviation (Dr. Girija Vyas (USA), rural development (Shri Jairam Ramesh (USA), development of north eastern region (Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar (UK)), power (Shri Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia (USA)), corporate affairs (Shri Sachin Pilot (USA), shipping, communications & information technology (Shri Milind Murli Deora (USA)), and health and family welfare (Shri Abu Hasem Khan Choudhary UK and Canada).
This is perhaps the first time since 1947 when so much American thinking is guiding India. Of course Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and many other Indian independence movement leaders were educated in the U.K.
Future blogs will look into the implications of close and strategic relationship that has grown between the United States and India since 2000 and disproportionate American intellectual influence on India compared with any other country in 2013.
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