Indo-US ties get rewired after N-blast downed circuit

Two years down the line, the anniversary of that convulsive day passed almost unnoticed. The President’s `why?’ is now much better understood even if it is not entirely appreciated. The South Asia bureau, then a neglected corner of the State Department, is now humming with activity and, in fact, is now going to expand to meet the new demands of an energised relationship.

In a wide-ranging interview in Washington last week on the growing bonds, Rick Inderfurth, the bossman of the bureau was emphatic in declaring that the Indo-US relationship has entered a dynamic new phase. "Dennis Kux will have to change the title of the sequel of his book," he said, referring to former diplomat’s scholarly tome called "Estranged Democracies" on the hitherto star-crossed ties between the two countries. "We brought our quarterback into play and that has changed everything."

The quarterback — a position in American football equal to a captain and playmaker — he was referring to is President Clinton, whose landmark visit to India in March has clearly changed the dynamics of the relationship. Suddenly, there is such a flurry of visits from both sides that both the State Department and the Indian Embassy are feeling rushed.

There is even a change in the nature and profile of talks. Next week, US Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering is going to New Delhi. The subject for discussion: Asian security, a topic that will draw India into the matrix of the region’s complex power dynamics that involves players like China and Japan. Later in summer, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will meet in Warsaw, Poland, on the sideline of a meeting of democratic countries among which India and the US are the biggest players.

"The United States has begun to take India seriously because India has begun to take itself seriously," Inderfurth continued in remarks that was a far, far cry from the putdowns of his predecessor Robin Raphel, whose sulphurous observation that "India is not ready for prime time" roiled South Block no end.

Indeed, so seriously is Washington taking India that New Delhi’s record increase in defence expenditure — within weeks of the President’s visit — escaped what would earlier have been a harsh censure. In fact, in the interview that followed the defence outlay hike, Inderfurth declared that in terms of tone and content, the President’s trip, on a scale of one to ten, scored a perfect ten.

Even in terms of objectives, he said, the score would be "very high" though he would not quantify it. "What is certain is that we have moved from estranged democracies to engaged democracies. We can’t forget the estrangement, so it has made the engagement all that more well received," Inderfurth said.

Central to the new engagement is the value Washington is suddenly placing on India’s huge skilled workforce. This force is now considered important — if not crucial — to America’s new economy. At the time India’s population has just crossed the billion mark, there appears to be a subtle change in the way the West, especially the United States, is looking at what used to be considered a Malthusian nightmare.

The feeling now is, properly fed and educated, India has the world most coveted asset — a skilled workforce.

They are beginning to call it Human Capital.

Just how far the Indians have come was evident again last weekend here in the epicentre of the technological revolution. Some 2,000 top-notch Indian entrepreneurs gathered here for the annual meeting of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE), a mentoring group that is beginning to dominate the Silicon Valley so greatly that Jim Clark of Netscape called it the "Indian mafia." Key members of the groups have not only created over $ 500 billion of wealth but have also generated employment for tens of thousands. "It is a model both China and Israel are looking at closely," said Henry Chiao, a Chinese Venture Capitalist who attended the meet as a delegate.

It is a development that has not escaped the keen monitors in the Clinton administration. More recently, several Presidential pronouncements have been peppered with references to India’s technological prowess and the role of Indian-Americans in galvanising the internet economy. Earlier this week, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart revealed that President Clinton considered India as a "strategic security ally," the first time the administration has spoke of India in such a context. Much of appears to be based on the skilled human capital angle.

"Ten years from now the United States will be heavily dependant on India for services and skilled work. In twenty years, India will be indispensable," says Kanwal Rekhi, president of TIE. By Rekhi’s estimate, the Bay area already has between 100,000 to 150,000 Indians. Indians have founded at least 1,000 companies in the last decade. Several have a market cap in excess of $ 10 billion each. And to top it all, some 100,000 Indians are expected to pour into the US every year from now on.

(The full text of Rick Inderfurth’s interview will be published laterthis week)