The Delicate U.S. Task of Courting India

New Delhi

With India slated to pass Germany and Japan to become the world’s third largest economy by the end of this decade, getting India right has become a critical task for American policy makers.

But a week of talks with political, religious and business leaders aligned with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has reminded me how difficult this relationship can be. The U.S. and India are both democracies. They are both eager to offset Chinese power in Asia without war. But the differences between the two societies are profound. It will take skill, patience and understanding to make the relationship work.

There is much about India that most Americans don’t understand, and few Americans know India well enough to explain it to the rest of us. Indian democracy is even more complicated and messier than the American variety, and elements of Indian life, ranging from communal violence to reflexive suspicion of both capitalism and the U.S., anger, puzzle and frustrate Americans trying to engage.

Under the current BJP government, Indian authorities have taken some controversial steps. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was deprived of his parliamentary seat following a relatively minor legal finding. Indian officials have used tax laws to harass critics ranging from a well-known think tank (Centre for Policy Research) to the BBC and limited the ability of Indian nongovernmental organizations (including Christian groups) to receive money from abroad. Authorities have at times been slow to respond to complaints by religious minorities about violent attacks or discriminatory state legislation.

Government and party officials argue that Indian realities are complicated. They claim Mr. Gandhi’s forced exit was a judicial matter, that state rather than federal authorities are responsible for many of the decisions that trouble international human-rights groups, and that past governments under the BJP’s political rivals have done the same or worse. They make some valid points, but the chorus of criticism from American human-rights organizations continues to grow.

Unless handled intelligently on both sides, problems like this could throw a wrench into diplomatic relations. The reflexive American response to perceived democratic backsliding—a mix of high-minded lectures and threats of sanctions—infuriates Indians, whose skepticism about American virtue has deep roots. No Indian government can afford to be seen bowing to foreign demands.

Indians are sometimes right about American hypocrisy and arrogance; Americans are sometimes right about misguided Indian policies. Even so, the two countries must work together. We need to find ways to address sensitive issues in order to keep the focus on the larger interests that unite us.

This is where the scarcity of real Indian expertise in America creates problems. Hundreds of thousands of young Americans have lived and studied in China over the past 30 years, but a relative handful went to India. An even smaller number studied Indian languages. While many educated Indians speak English, a large majority do not comfortably read or write in it, and without access to the vernacular press and public, American ideas about Indian politics and culture are inevitably skewed.

During the Cold War, Americans and our principal allies understood that the Atlantic Community and the U.S.-Japan relationship needed people-to-people ties to become enduring and strong. Governments funded language-study programs and promoted exchanges. Civil-society groups ranging from Rotary clubs and local chambers of commerce to universities and foundations joined in a prolonged effort to build the West into a community. This wasn’t always easy in the wake of World War II—American relationships with Germany and Japan were not exactly love matches.

Building the U.S.-India relationship will take at least as much work. While India already sends hundreds of thousands of students to American universities, and the Indian-American community operates effectively as ambassadors and interpreters between the two cultures, a much broader engagement is needed.

Government can do its part. Washington should step up funding for the study of Indian languages and history. It should simplify the process for issuing visas to Indian scholars, journalists and businesspeople and work with Indian officials to promote cooperation between universities and other civil-society groups in the two countries.

But government action alone won’t be enough. A generation of young Americans needs to study and live in India, learning local languages and cultures. Programs bringing young Americans to India to teach English while learning about Indian culture and history would help both countries. Businesses should invest in deepening the ties that will enable the economic relationship between the two countries to reach its full potential. Philanthropy needs to make the relationship a priority, providing universities and think tanks with the resources to build up their India-focused programs.

Deepening our relationship with India enhances American security and promotes American economic growth. Investing in that relationship should be one of our highest national priorities.