Washington: The expansion of Hindu majoritarianism, concentration of executive power and decay of independent institutions and curbs on free expression and dissent in India are three pillars of concern, said a renowned US researcher, Milan Vaishnav.
Dr Vaishnav, Senior Fellow and Director, South Asia Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC, in interview said, “The United States has lost a lot of moral authority after the last administration and the events of January 6th. India too has its fair share of democratic challenges at home. That means that the ‘values’ pillar of the relationship is on shakier ground.”
Dr Vaishnav’s primary research focus is the political economy of India. He examines issues such as corruption and governance, State capacity, distributive politics, and electoral behaviour. He conducts a regular podcast on Indian politics, Grand Tamasha.
Though Mr Modi has met Mr Biden before as VP, how do you think their first face to face meetings went — and with Vice President Kamala Harris?
Responding to the question, he said, “In her public remarks, Harris also addressed the sensitive issue of democracy, pointing to the fact that both India and the United States have considerable work to do there.”
When asked how different was this visit compared to Modi’s previous visits to America under Presidents Trump and Obama, he said, “I think this visit is coming at a different time. The United States has lost a lot of moral authority after the last administration and the events of January 6th. India too has its fair share of democratic challenges at home. That means that the ‘values’ pillar of the relationship is on shakier ground.”
He admitted that the confluence of the two raises some uncomfortable questions in Washington, where there is a vocal minority pressuring the Biden administration to be more forward-leaning on democracy and human rights. He also dismissed the Modi’s ‘landmark meeting’ remarks saying that he doesn’t see the bilateral meeting between Modi and Biden as landmark per se, “but I do feel that appellation could apply to the Quad meeting.”
