They came to India at different moments Bill Clinton,George W Bush and Barack Obama. Clintons visit in March 2000 came at a time when India and the US were only just learning to look at each other afresh even though the old world order came crashing down almost a decade ago. The 1998 Pokharan tests and the 1999 Kargil War hadnt lost their resonance. When Bush came to India in 2006,it had been nearly five years since 9/11 and the attack on Indias Parliament,but the US-led War on Terror was still the single most transformative issue in the world. India and the US hovered on the brink of a radical pact unafraid to speak its own name. And Obama came to India at a time when the war on terror continues in Afghanistan and in Iraq,but after it was asked to prove its innocence. US-India comforts have been consecrated. In the speeches of the three presidents,two Democrats and one Republican Clinton to a joint session of Parliament,Bush at the Purana Qila,Obama to the joint session they responded to the unique moment that framed their India visit. Idea of India Clinton was the US president still looking from afar,with wonderment. From a distance,India often appears as a kaleidoscope of competing,perhaps superficial images. Is it atomic weapons,or ahimsa? A land struggling against poverty and inequality,or the worlds largest middle-class society?. Is it Bollywood or Satyajit Ray?. handloom or the hyperlink? Bush quoted from Gandhi,Nehru and Tagore and declared,When you come to India in the 21st century,youre inspired by the past and you can see the future. Obamas speech roamed wider,drawing upon Gandhi,Vivekananda,Ambedkar,the Panchtantra. Yet his view of India was the most intimate. And I am mindful that I might not be standing before you today,as President of the United States,had it not been for Gandhi and the message he shared with America and the world. India and US Clinton was evocative. I have read that one of the unique qualities of Indian classical music is its elasticity. The composer lays down a foundation,a structure of melodic and rhythmic arrangements,but the player has to improvise within that structure to bring the raga to life. Our relationship is like that. Bush had a plan. Last summer in Washington,America and India reached an agreement to share civilian nuclear technology. Obama answered the what next question that he said people in both countries have asked. We welcome India as it prepares to take its seat on the United Nations Security Council. But there was a twist in the tail. Obama spoke of regimes that hold the aspirations of an entire people hostage to their greed and paranoia,like Burma. If I can be frank,in international fora,India has often avoided these issues, he said. Trade,outsourcing Clinton applauded the India growth story. Globalisation does not favour nations with a licensing raj,it does favour nations with a panchayat raj. And the world has been beating a path to your door. For him,the onus still rested with the developed countries. He urged them to listen when Indians and Brazilians and Indonesians speak up for open trade. He spoke against rich-country protectionism. By the time Bush came to India,Bangalore had become the name of a spectre in America. But he begged to differ. In my country,some focus on only one aspect of our trade relationship with India: outsourcing. Some people believe that the answer to this problem is to wall off our economy from the world through protectionist policies. I strongly disagree. Obama emphasised to audiences back home that partnership with India is not a zero-sum game. But the onus was now on India. It must realise its economic potential by opening its markets and reducing barriers to foreign investment. Terror,Pakistan Clinton was speaking in pre-9/11 times. For him,the spread of weapons of mass destruction to those who might have no reservations about using them was the greatest potential threat to security in the 21st century. India and the US,he said,should join the CTBT. On Pakistan,One of the wisest things anybody ever said to me is that you dont make peace with your friends. I strongly believe that what has happened since your prime minister made his courageous journey to Lahore only reinforces the need for dialogue. Bush connected the dots between 9/11 and the terror strike on Indias Parliament,an attack on the heart of Indian democracy. He didnt pause to advocate Indo-Pak dialogue. On my trip to Islamabad,he said,I will meet with President Musharraf to discuss Pakistans vital cooperation in the war on terror. Obama insisted that Were making progress in our mission to break the Talibans momentum and to train Afghan forces so that they can take the lead for their security. For him,in pursuit of regional security,we will continue to welcome dialogue between India and Pakistan,even as we recognise that disputes between your two countries can only be resolved by the people of your two countries.
