LoC moves to Washington, New York

Published September 30, 2014
US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — File photo
US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — File photo

WASHINGTON: The Line of Control (LoC) that divides the Indian and Pakistani administered sides of Kashmir moved to the United States this week as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on a four-day visit.

At the White House, US President Barack Obama hosted a private dinner for the Indian leader on Monday night and greeted him in his native Gujarati, “kem chho (how are you)?”

It was a different scene outside the White House where hundreds of Kashmiris, and some Sikhs, were protesting against India’s occupation of the valley.

About 200 Indians were already there, singing Gujarati songs and dancing and upon seeing the Kashmiri crowd, rushed towards them, chanting slogans against Kashmiris.

The two groups came very close to fistfights but were separated by the city police and the White House security staff.

Police also created a de facto LoC, which separates Indian and Pakistani forces in Kashmir, by parking their cars between the two groups.

Both crowds stayed there for almost three hours, chanting slogans and hurling insults at each other.

Since the Kashmiris outnumbered the Indians, they dominated the shouting match with the Indians countering it by playing Gujarati folk songs on the public address system and by performing Gujarati dances.

Similar scenes were witnessed in New York during Modi’s address to the UN General Assembly earlier this week but the New York police was ready for that and had created a three feet wide no-go zone to prevent physical fights between the two groups.

The Kashmiris said they protest every year outside the UN building and in Washington whenever an Indian prime minister comes but this was the first time supporters of the Indian government had interrupted their protest.

Members of the Indian community claim that the Modi government had not sent people to counter the protest. The entire show was arranged by the Indian American community, which has been galvanised by Modi’s unprecedented election victory of this year.

Observers warned that this new development could lead to further polarisation between the Indian and Pakistani communities and urged their leaders to step forward to curb this.

US officials, however, remind both Indian and Pakistani American communities that Modi’s visit was not about Indo-Pak relations. They say the main objective behind the visit was to promote bilateral trade, elevating it to $1 trillion by 2030.

Modi’s first official engagement in Washington was a meeting with top American companies followed by talks with US President Obama and a dinner at the White House.

Equally important on the agenda is a mutual desire to combat international terrorism, which both have described as a serious threat to their interests.

“We have a shared national interest to defeat terrorism, prevent weapons proliferation, and maintain regional stability,” said chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Robert Menendez.

In an op-ed he wrote on the day Modi arrived in Washington, Senator Menendez urged the United States and India to “increase counter-terrorism and intelligence cooperation” and “commit to a robust set of joint exercises”.

The Indian prime minister came from New York where he spent two days, showcasing “brand Modi and brand India”, culminating it with a major show at the Madison Square Garden where he received a rock star reception.

As in New York, the 2.8 million strong Indian American community plans to use a combination of New Delhi’s growing economic strength and soft power – Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2013, and pop singer Anjali Ranadive – to showcase India in Washington.

“While NYC was about engaging with America, DC will be about striking a chemistry with Mr Obama and setting the tone towards working on the complexities that have nagged this relationship,” said Brajesh Upadhyay, a BBC journalist covering the four-day visit.

One of the stumbling blocks in this relationship, however, is India’s 2010 nuclear liability bill. US nuclear reactor manufacturers feel that the bill has placed conditions that may prevent them from getting insurance for doing business in India.

Senator Menendez urged India also to “ease some (other) concerns American companies have had about barriers to entering the Indian market.”

India’s concerns on WTO (World Trade Organisation) negotiations are also seen in Washington as the last remaining barrier to an agreement on easing hurdles to global trade.

The United States is also demanding more actions for protecting intellectual property rights in India. Indian diplomats, who briefed the media on Modi’s two-day visit to Washington, said the Indian prime minister would address all these concerns. And he will tell America that “India is open to business and to galvanizing a partnership that hasn't lived up to its potential.”

Another important area where Indians and Americans have common interests is Afghanistan. In Washington, India is seen as a key development assistance provider to Afghanistan. US policy makers recognise India’s growing influence in Afghanistan and also its role in strengthening the Afghan National Security Forces, particularly after the US withdrawal.

“As the United States seeks to bolster Afghanistan’s economic links in the region, India will continue to have a critical role to play in promoting trade within South and Central Asia,” Senator Menendez said.

In a front-page story on Modi’s visit, The Washington Post noted that only recently, the US “Congress had denied Modi a visa…because of his alleged negligence in preventing a 2002 massacre in which more than 1,000 people died, many of them Muslim”.

Read more: Modi faces US court summons over Gujarat riots: reports

In New York, hundreds of protesters shouted slogans against Modi’s alleged role in this massacre, both outside the UN, when he addressed the General Assembly, and outside Madison Square Garden.

Hundreds more, mainly Kashmiris, plan to protest outside the White House while Prime Minister Modi will be having dinner with President Obama.

Pushing aside such irritants, Forbes magazine noted that the visit “offers an opportunity for a reset in bilateral relations.”

The magazine acknowledged that America’s ties with Islamabad were “both historic and current” but argued that “building closer and more enduring ties with America would help New Delhi wean Washington away from its tight Pakistani embrace, one that already makes many US policymakers uncomfortable”.

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