Why do you think 65 per cent of American public opinion today considers that the US has a vital interest in India? Interestingly, this is a 29 percentage increase from the last survey of 1998 — the largest increase for any country.The jump in figures is because Americans today consider that there is a high risk of nuclear war between India and Pakistan — a perception that grew after the 1998 nuclear tests and the stand-off between the two neighbours over Kashmir. Yet 47 per cent of Americans believe that India will play a lesser role in the next 10 years than it does today. Only 40 per cent feel that India will play a greater role. Doesn’t this discrepancy sound like a paradox?It’s not really paradoxical. If Americans think there is a greater risk of war between India and Pakistan, then this is bound to diminish India’s role globally. Instead of being a force for growth or development, India is beginning to be seen as perched between war and peace. And nowadays nuclear war is regarded as a global threat. Has racial profiling influenced the survey any way?No, I don’t think racial profiling after 9/11 has affected perceptions about India, though individual Indians have certainly suffered from harassment and worse. Overall India is seen as a victim of terrorism, not an exporter of terrorists. Why does the feeling towards India continue to stay at 46 degrees in the survey?You would have thought that if India had become so much more important to the US strategically then this would affect the temperature — either a rise as with Russia or a drop as with Pakistan. But this didn’t happen — it means Americans don’t see India as either more of an ally or less of one. It is a bit of a failure for the Indian government, which has made a point of shared US-Indian interests in the war against terrorism. Does it mean India, for the Americans, is more important strategically but not economically as a major global player?That’s difficult to answer. India is at present seen as more important strategically for a negative reason — in relation to Pakistan. India adds stress to the US-Pakistan relationship. India doesn’t really feature in the public perception economically, because Indian products don’t impinge on the daily lives of American men and women. Indian goods are not widely distributed. It is restricted to exotica (clothes, certain kinds of health foods and natural medicines). How can the feeling change towards warmth?India has to be clear what its own national interests are and then decide how to streamline these with the US’. At the policy level, this would make a huge difference. As far as public perception is concerned, the Indian diaspora is making a difference at the local level. But India as a country is increasingly associated with violence. News on India, for example, is almost always restricted to a new terrorist attack or a new escalation between India and Pakistan. This is not just a question of rhetoric or image — India keeps saying it’s the world’s largest democracy, but Americans hardly ever see Indian government trying to make that democracy work. While 76 per cent of Americans consider Pakistan as of vital interest to the US, feeling towards Pakistan has dropped from 42 to 31 degrees. While 50 per cent of the respondents think Pakistan is a formidable ally in the war on terrorism, only 43 per cent think it is reliable. Why?The drop in feeling towards Pakistan is entirely to be expected. After 9/11, Americans have been specifically targeted by Islamic radicals in Pakistan — remember the gruesome Pearl murder. Taliban and Al Qaeda are also regrouping there. Moreover, Americans have seen the Pakistani army and intelligence services drag their heels on identifying and arresting Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters.
