It’s become a cliche‚ to speak of the US-India relationship as a bond between the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest democracy. A cliche, but also a fact. Shared political values are the foundation for this relationship—but if that were the whole story, it wouldn’t have taken us six decades to get to where we are now. For much of India’s existence as an independent state, political structures were trumped by geopolitical ones: democratic India was often closer to the Soviet Union, while the US often favored India’s rival Pakistan—particularly during the most un-democratic phases in that nation’s history.This alignment (or perhaps, in deference to my Indian friends, I should say non-alignment) may turn out to have been an anomaly of the Cold War. But it’s an useful reminder that political structures are not always in neat accord with national interests.For the US and India today, however, our national interests are in concert—perhaps more so than at any time in the past. We are both status quo powers—at least regarding territory—in that neither of us has a claim to any neighboring piece of real estate.We face similar challenges from extremists and terrorists—in many cases, the very same terrorist groups and individuals. We share a common desire for stability and the spread of liberal democracy throughout Asia—and, indeed, throughout the world.Economically, the picture is still very bright, but a little more complex.India is rapidly taking its place in the global economy: a place finally in line with the size and talents of its population.That’s good for India, good for many American businesses—but it also poses real challenges for American workers whose jobs are inevitably imperiled by a globalized economy. There will be losers as well as winners, in both of our countries. And both of us will have to do a much better job dealing with the painful dislocations of this economic transition.But let’s remember the big picture here: India has a booming economy, and is going to be major force of the coming century—but India faces enormous domestic challenges. It’s a rising power—but it’s got rising problems. America shouldn’t fear the competition of India—the global economy is based on competition. We should recognize the economic and political challenges of India as a real opportunity. That brings me to a closely related issue—in fact, the number one issue on our agenda today: the deal for civil nuclear cooperation.This is an important agreement for both countries. I hope and expect that the Senate will support it.Congress will not be a rubber stamp for the Administration. But Senator Richard Lugar and I are working closely together on legislation that will take a realistic approach to the agreement. Our objectives are:• To preserve the right of Congress to conduct a meaningful review of the peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement that India and the United States are negotiating• To ensure that nuclear cooperation is used exclusively in India’s civil nuclear programme and that India continues to be a “good citizen” when it comes to non-proliferation, and• To do this without making the Administration renegotiate the deal.That won’t be easy, but I truly think we will succeed.Our task will be easier, if India accepts effective safeguards regarding facilities that receive foreign materials, equipment or technology.And our task will be made much easier, in my view, if India embraces the full world-wide non-proliferation regime, including:• The Proliferation Security Initiative• The Australia Group (which controls exports that could help countries build chemical or biological weapons); • The Wassenaar Arrangement (which combats the spread of advanced conventional weapons).We must remember that the US-India nuclear agreement is not a test of our bilateral relationship.Rather, it is part of a larger process in which India, by demonstrating its interest in maintaining international institutions, will be accepted as one of the major powers that help to run the world in the 21st Century.There are many other issues on which Congress will play a role in the strengthening of relations and these issues show just how interconnected our two societies have become, like liberalizing agricultural exports; increasing cooperation in the fields of defense, patent protection and information technology; and expanding facilities for visas and educational exchangeAs a friend of India, I look forward to playing my part in these debates. But in my view.the relationship between India and the US rests ultimately not on legislation, but on the foundation built outside the realm of government.Maybe most important—it rests on a shared bond of identity: we’re both nations founded not on the basis of language or ethnicity, but on a political and social idea. That idea, simply put, is liberal democracy. Democracy is an option for some countries—but for our two countries, it’s a necessity.We share an understanding that a free, open, vibrant democracy is absolutely 100 per cent essential to the survival of a nation—like both of ours—whose citizens come from many ethnic backgrounds, speak many languages, and practice many religions. We both have such wildly diverse populations that if we were to stray from our core political values, the centrifugal forces would tear our countries apart. Democracy, secularism, and toleration—for both of us, these values are, quite literally, the stuff of survival.The US-India relationship, therefore, isn’t merely a convenience. It isn’t just a matter of a balance-sheet of national interest. It’s more like a bond of shared DNA.We bring out the best in each other—and we help each other bring out the best in ourselves.Senator Biden is the minority leader of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This is an edited version of his recent speech to the US-India Business Council in Washington DC
