India-US relations: News and Discussions IV

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 01 Jul 2023 17:13

This is The Hindu, with unnamed officials saying this, it is highly unlikely.
Chetak look at the dates, Dec 16 updated in 2021. Nothing to do with present day

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 04 Jul 2023 02:32

Khalistanis have set Indian consulate in San Francisco on fire and are circulating the video:

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 04 Jul 2023 10:18

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 04 Jul 2023 10:20

They are targeting our diplomatic personnel and naming them as "killers" on wanted-posters:

So for anyone who says "don't pay attention to them" -- I think it's time we pay attention, because they are escalating to worse and worse levels.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 04 Jul 2023 10:38

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 04 Jul 2023 12:14

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 04 Jul 2023 17:06

These attacks cannot happen without local law enforcement being asked to stand down, hell indian grandfathers walking and peeping into homes from the street have thier spine broken. This whole thing looks like a Gora dhamki

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 06 Jul 2023 08:17

Aditya_V wrote:These attacks cannot happen without local law enforcement being asked to stand down, hell indian grandfathers walking and peeping into homes from the street have thier spine broken. This whole thing looks like a Gora dhamki

I’ve been to Indian consulate in SF. It has no security or secured perimeter, it’s not even in the downtown, more like a cheaper neighborhood. Anyone can do this.

Manish_P · Post by **Manish_P** » 06 Jul 2023 09:10

vimal wrote:
Aditya_V wrote:These attacks cannot happen without local law enforcement being asked to stand down, hell indian grandfathers walking and peeping into homes from the street have thier spine broken. This whole thing looks like a Gora dhamki
I’ve been to Indian consulate in SF. It has no security or secured perimeter, it’s not even in the downtown, more like a cheaper neighborhood. Anyone can do this.

No security after the stark increase in khalistani shenanigans just before, during and after the indian PM visit? Nothing picked up on the famed US homeland security ELINT systems?

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 06 Jul 2023 10:08

^^ Blame it on the Indian government’s cheapness index. Even tiny countries like Singapore has embassies in prime locations. Modi government is busy saving money and penny wise pound foolish.

disha · Post by **disha** » 06 Jul 2023 10:31

^ Well the entire San Francisco city is being overridden with crime and drugs and homelessness.

It is an old building and can be upgraded at the same time, it does have an outer courtyard that offers some protective space. Note that the Consulates in developed country are thought to be well protected unlike that in Afghanistan.

At this point, the repsonsibility is on host country. US. The host state California and the host city, San Francisco. There is no word from Nancy Pelosi or Diane Finstein or NANGA Newsom or Eric Garshitty. None. Nada. Zip. Zero.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 06 Jul 2023 11:09

All the people you have spoken of are mentally really out of it.

disha · Post by **disha** » 07 Jul 2023 09:46

^ My ask is for ppl to go easy on "Mudi shud do sumthin" and "Mudi does not spend" and actually learn to call out the cartoon leaders of the great state of Kahliforniah!

Meanwhile Eric Garshitty at it again. US SD ka haath, Garshitty ke saath:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ ... 050075.ece

U.S. ready to help in Manipur if asked, says Eric Garcetti

“We stand ready to assist in any ways if asked. We know it’s an Indian matter and we pray for peace and that it may come quickly,” the U.S. envoy said.

Even the normally anti-Hindu, anti-Indian Congress(I)s ended up making this statement:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-ne ... 63278.html

The comment drew a response from Congress MP Manish Tewari who said it is very rare for a US envoy to make a statement "of this nature about the internal affairs of India".

Even when the Asst. Secretary of State Robin Raphael was blowing wind over Cashmere, the US Ambassador to India stayed away from making any comments.

drnayar · Post by **drnayar** » 07 Jul 2023 09:51

I would think the Chinese and Congress mou would be against us interference in border states. Looks like both us overtly and China covertly are involved

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 10 Jul 2023 16:52

https://twitter.com/sreemoytalukdar/sta ... 9882607616

Sreemoy Talukdar @sreemoytalukdar
This Ashley Tellis interview by @prashantktm is a good one. It reveals the prejudices and delusions of a man whose grip on the realities that drive India and US is slipping. If I'm allowed to oversimplify, Tellis reckons that India must do the heavy lifting in this relationship (and not ask for privileges) because India needs the US more than the US needs India. He also believes that India is getting a "free pass" owing to China, thereby suggesting that Americans are the upholders of a moral order that India must aspire to attain. Tragic, and in equal parts amusing.

The US bet on India is good, within limits: Ashley J Tellis

Tanvi Madan @tanvi_madan
Fair enough to disagree with Ashley on substance. I, indeed, see things differently than he does. But he has contributed more to US-India relations than most of the folks on Twitter insulting him combined. People should argue vs his points, not malign his character.

Marendra Nodi @palltu
What’s the point? You ignore anyone who challenges you on points and logic.

NR @ChennaiNr
When the view of the author is character assassination of an entire country, questioning the morals and ethics of the same author is the most ethical critique one can put forward.

Uttam Kumar @007agnostic

Ashley Tellis &his contribution is a thing of the past. He seems desperate to seek relevance through very provocative arguments these days. And, this isn't maligning anyone's character,but to come to terms with the fact that his capability to contribute positively has diminished.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 10 Jul 2023 17:13

Why so much fuss about Ashley Tellis? Just a man with an opinion. And what do people expect from Tanvi? Earns a paycheck supporting the US security establishment. Anyone else would say the same sh*t she does if they got paid for it.

drnayar · Post by **drnayar** » 10 Jul 2023 18:53

RoyG wrote: ↑10 Jul 2023 17:13 Why so much fuss about Ashley Tellis? Just a man with an opinion. And what do people expect from Tanvi? Earns a paycheck supporting the US security establishment. Anyone else would say the same sh*t she does if they got paid for it.

indeed he is paid to think for the American establishment not India's !

drnayar · Post by **drnayar** » 10 Jul 2023 19:16

lots of bowing by Yellen.. as submissive as a cat before milk

Anant · Post by **Anant** » 10 Jul 2023 19:54

Personally, as an American of Indian origin, I always see a lot of takleef and disharmony on this thread. I think that the US and India should just stick to their own gig and leave each other alone. I don't know why the US kisses India's back side so much; I get that it is a growing economy and large consumer market yada yada but it is also an independent nation and India should do what it wants. Similarly, I think the US should chart its own course. At the end of the day, all of this gets sorted out one way or another and sure there will be wins and losses on both sides. Good for India to buy the Rafale and Scorpene. I am sure they are awesome products and I am no defense dude and I am sure there are smart people who decide all that. But for people who constantly post on here thinking that America is simply going to go down the drain, come on, give it a rest. It ain't happening. Not for the foreseeable future. Sure, we got plenty of problems but so does India and lots of Indian people like me came here voluntarily and we have new identities now. Nevertheless, we don't secretly wish badly for India. Never have. Let's see what the future holds. You don't know and I don't know.

And yes, as a postscript, consulates must always be protected better whether they are in San Francisco or Timbuktoo.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 10 Jul 2023 20:24

Anant,

Kautilya was right in his observation that diplomacy is an act of war. Therefore, sticking to your own gig is not possible.

Manish_P · Post by **Manish_P** » 10 Jul 2023 22:17

^^ what a post

g.sarkar · Post by **g.sarkar** » 10 Jul 2023 22:34

https://www.rediff.com/news/interview/d ... 230630.htm
'China's aggression, Russian's unreliability, convinced India to value US'
NIKHIL LAKSHMAN, July 06, 2023
'India's specific concerns about whether Russia will be a reliable defense supplier and diplomatic partner in the event of heightened hostilities with China has undoubtedly accelerated the process of US-India defense and intelligence cooperation intended to support Indian military positions along the Line of Actual Control.'
In an assessment published in the July/August issue of the well respected journal Foreign Affairs titled 'India as It Is: Washington and New Delhi Share Interests, Not Values', Daniel S Markey, one of America's leading India watchers, wrote: 'Washington must be careful about the ways it deals with New Delhi. It must remain keenly aware that India's desire to work with the United States is born of circumstance, not conviction, and could quickly disappear.'
'U.S. officials,' Dr Markey wrote in Foreign Affairs, 'must understand that, deep down, India is not an ally. Its relationship to the United States is fundamentally unlike that of, say, a NATO member. And India will never aspire to that sort of alliance. For this reason, U.S. officials should not frame their agreements with India as the building blocks of a deeper relationship.'
So, how does Dr Markey view Prime Minister Narendra D Modi's State visit to the US, which concluded with a flurry of agreements across a spectrum of activity?
Dr Markey -- currently, a Senior Advisor, South Asia at the Washington, DC think-tank, the United States Institute of Peace -- took time out from his schedule to answer Nikhil Lakshman's questions.
.....
Would you say the US conceded more in its desire to have India firmly in its corner? And do you think India is closer to the United States after this visit, or is India's proximity to America a mirage?
Yes, the United States made an enormous effort to win favor with India and, in particular, with Prime Minister Modi.
The State dinner, arrival ceremony, Congressional address, and other official events were a clear political signal of US aims.
No effort was spared in the White House's attempt to project a positive bilateral relationship and to embrace Modi, both literally and figuratively.
President Biden and his top officials spoke glowingly and uncritically, endorsing Modi as a great leader and a great democratic partner.
In the GE jet engine deal they offered India an unprecedented opportunity for technology transfer and a concession greater than any since the Bush administration's civil nuclear agreement.
Prime Minister Modi was similarly warm in his tone, but offered far less in the way of actual policy moves, and no major concessions. I believe Modi successfully cultivated ties with a range of American audiences -- especially the business community -- without giving an inch on issues where Washington and New Delhi have had difference stances, like Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.
In short, India has -- for now, at least -- found a way to draw closer to the United States without necessarily distancing itself from its other friends or materially altering its policies.
Why do you think the Biden administration is so anxious to cultivate a solid relationship with India, knowing well that New Delhi will always retain its strategic autonomy card?
Prominent figures in the Biden administration perceive India to be an indispensable counterweight to China in the emerging world order. Some believe this to be true whether or not India ever draws especially close to the United States, just as long as India does not make common cause with China.
Others anticipate that joint US-India ventures will build 'habits of cooperation' and, in time, enable a relationship that is extremely close, even if India jealously guards its autonomy.
In all instances, they perceive that the sheer scale of the China challenge -- in human and material terms -- cannot be met by the United States without similarly sized partners, and India is unique in that respect.
What is it in the current global strategic environment that made Jake Sullivan sell the concept of more give less take with India to a President who is known to be a foreign policy conservative?
Working with India is not new to President Biden or any of his senior officials. Past experience has taught them that overcoming India's skepticism about the United States will not be quick or easy.
Equally important is that Biden sees domestic politics and foreign policy as going hand-in-hand. Unlike many thorny foreign policy issues facing the administration, India is more easily framed as a tantalizing prospect for American businesses and workers.
So Biden and Sullivan tend to look past the initial costs and focus on India's upside potential.
......
Gautam

g.sarkar · Post by **g.sarkar** » 10 Jul 2023 22:48

https://www.rediff.com/news/interview/d ... 230706.htm
'India to play marginal role in US-China rivalry'
NIKHIL LAKSHMAN, July 06, 2023
'The United States should not, by this logic, expect India to create military distractions along the Line of Actual Control, hold up Chinese shipping in the Indian Ocean, or even openly provide intelligence or basing for US forces transiting the region.'
....
So how does Daniel S Markey, author of the provocative assessment in the July/August issue of the well respected journal Foreign Affairs ('India as It Is: Washington and New Delhi Share Interests, Not Values') view Prime Minister Narendra D Modi's State visit to the US and its impact on the dragon in the room.
Dr Markey -- currently, a Senior Advisor, South Asia at the Washington, DC think-tank, the United States Institute of Peace -- answers Nikhil Lakshman's questions.
The concluding segment of a two-part e-mail interview:
Do you believe that of all governments that have ruled India since 1991, the Modi government has been the most America friendly despite its position on the war in the Ukraine?
No. All of India's recent governments have been open to improved ties with the United States, but also somewhat wary of what partnership might entail.
The Modi government includes some Cabinet officials that remain deeply sceptical of the United States, just as was the case in prior governments.
The Vajpayee government was remarkable for jumpstarting closer ties with Washington, and the Manmohan Singh government saw the civilian nuclear agreement through to fruition.
I do think that a combination of political and geopolitical realities has created incentives for the Modi government to pursue closer ties with the United States, but I don't think this is best explained by its being more "America friendly" than its predecessors.
Do you think Prime Minister Modi would like a solid relationship with America to be one of his foreign policy legacies?
Has he been remarkably skilful in dealing with three different Administrations to secure what India wants?
Or has he just been fortunate that the constellation of strategic interests has favoured his government?
Prime Minister Modi seeks to leave a legacy of global statesmanship, a part of which would include solid ties with the United States as well as with other major world powers.
He is a skilled politician and diplomat, and he has invested a tremendous amount of time and energy in enhancing his stature on the world stage.
He has indeed found ways to work with Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden alike.
However, while the current world order has favoured Modi's efforts to build closer ties with the United States, it has simultaneously undermined India's position in other crucial ways.
A decade ago, India enjoyed far better ties with China, and Russia was a more capable and independent partner for India.
India then had the luxury of working well with every great and medium-sized international power.
Today India is forced to navigate a more challenging international order, one more riven by US-China competition and outright hostility between Russia and the West.
On balance, Modi looks to be as much a victim or "taker" of international geopolitical developments as a skillful maker or shaper of them.
Finally, where do you see the India-US relationship in 2027 when it is said China will undertake its military mission to reunite Taiwan with the mainland, likely dragging Washington into an armed confrontation with Beijing?
Will India-US relations be so transformed by then that India, instead of neutrality, will be assertively supporting the United States, diplomatically and otherwise?
I anticipate that India would be cautious and risk-averse in the event of a war over Taiwan.
Although Indian leaders would be more diplomatically aligned with Washington than they have been during Russia's war with Ukraine (for instance, they would probably vote to condemn China's aggression in the United Nations), they would avoid actions that expose India to direct retaliation by Chinese forces.
.....
Gautam

wig · Post by **wig** » 11 Jul 2023 12:05

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/hi ... 385a&ei=44

High-profile US think tank chief arrested as Chinese agent involved in arms and oil Trade
extracted

Gal Luft, a 57-year-old joint US and Israeli citizen, is accused of covertly recruiting and financially compensating a former US official to publicly endorse specific Chinese policies, according to federal prosecutors.

Luft serves as the co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a research institution focused on energy and US security located outside of Washington DC.

The institute, co-founded by Luft and advised by former CIA Director James Woolsey, states its mission on its website.

It is alleged that Luft attempted to broker arms deals involving buyers from China, Libya, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kenya.

activities

In 2016, he supposedly neglected to register as a foreign agent while working to advance Chinese interests within the United States.

One of Luft’s purported actions involved lobbying an ex-US official, who advised then President-elect Donald Trump, in an effort to persuade him to publicly support China-related policies. It is claimed that he drafted comments on behalf of this unnamed official, which were subsequently published in Chinese media and distributed to American universities.

Prosecutors have also accused Luft of attempting to facilitate arms sales without the required US permits. It is alleged that he aided Chinese companies in selling anti-tank launchers, grenade launchers, and mortar rounds to Libya. Furthermore, he purportedly sought to sell aerial bombs and rockets to the UAE, as well as “strike” drones to Kenya.

Additionally, federal officials assert that Luft endeavored to bypass US sanctions on Iranian oil by instructing an associate to falsely declare it as Brazilian oil.

According to prosecutors, Luft was arrested in Cyprus on February 17 of this year on US charges, but absconded after being granted bail while awaiting extradition.

On the following day, a Twitter account bearing his name and boasting 15,000 followers announced his arrest in Cyprus, attributing it to a politically motivated extradition request by the US.

Luft, meanwhile, also claims he has information about the Biden family’s business with people linked to Chinese military intelligence. He was a potential witness for the US House committee investigating wrongdoings by Hunter Biden and his father, President Joe Biden.

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 11 Jul 2023 15:26

Luft, meanwhile, also claims he has information about the Biden family’s business with people linked to Chinese military intelligence. He was a potential witness for the US House committee investigating wrongdoings by Hunter Biden and his father, President Joe Biden.

The status of his potential testimony is not known now that Biden’s DOJ has announced charges against the think-tank leader.

Luft was last seen in a video interview with The New York Post that was filmed from an undisclosed location. In the video, he claimed he was being hunted by the Justice Department because he had information about the Bidens.

‘I, who volunteered to inform the US government about a potential security breach and about compromising information about a man vying to be the next president, am now being hunted by the very same people who I informed — and may have to live on the run for the rest of my life,’ he said.

The House Oversight Committee was preparing to interview Luft as part of their investigation into the Biden family before he fled his extradition from Greece.

Luft claims he met with FBI agents in Brussels in 2019 and told them relatives of President Joe Biden were receiving vast sums of money from Chinese officials.

Luft said the China state-controlled energy company CEFC was paying $100,000 a month to Hunter Biden, and $65,000 to his uncle, Joe’s brother, Jim Biden.

Hunter and Jim Biden took the money in exchange for their FBI connections and use of the Biden name to promote China’s Belt and Road Initiative around the world, Luft claimed.

Luft faces a total of eight charges, including failure to register as a foreign agent, evasion of oil sanctions, two counts of providing false statements to investigators, and three counts of illicit arms trafficking. If convicted, he could face several decades in prison.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 11 Jul 2023 20:28

Not contemporary, but found it good reading.

Was the last battle of the American Revolution fought in India?

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 14 Jul 2023 12:49

not worth the paper its written on but it will give cheen a bad case of indigestion

US Senate Congressional Committee Passes Resolution Recognizing Arunachal Pradesh As Integral Part Of India

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 741534.cms

Cyrano · Post by **Cyrano** » 14 Jul 2023 22:54

If such a resolution comes on Kashmir - PoK & Sakshgam valley, we will have both neighbours with brown undies.

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 22 Jul 2023 06:12

Apparently FBI has picked up an individual over the burning of India's consulate in San Francisco, and it's a matter of time until others too are found out and apprehended on this matter, which is a federal crime.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 26 Jul 2023 01:05

https://archive.ph/FQrO2
The Movement Shaping a Modern India
The leading Hindu nationalist group says religion and culture will unite the country.

Inevitably, American and Western observers look at Hindu nationalism through the lens of the conflict between Hindus and Muslims that has dominated much of South Asia’s modern history. Whether it is allegations that Mr. Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, failed to halt the violence that left hundreds of people dead in 2002, or charges that Hindu nationalist authorities turn a blind eye to lynchings and other forms of violence against religious minorities today, the Hindu nationalist movement is widely blamed for exacerbating intercommunal tensions in a country still haunted by the mass murders and violence associated with the 1947 partition of British India. Many Indian and foreign observers see the RSS as cynically stirring the pot of hatred to gain power by appealing to the lowest instincts of voters.

Concerns about violence are legitimate, but what drives Hindu nationalism is less antagonism against Islam than fear for the future of India. Modern history is a story of multifaith, multilinguistic states falling apart as nationalist forces fight for independence. The Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires fell apart. The Soviet Union and Yugoslavia once seemed stable and permanent. Both disappeared almost overnight.
India is as ethnically and linguistically diverse as Europe or Latin America. As the Indian masses gain access to the internet and social media penetrates villages and slums, what glue can keep India together?

What unites the subcontinent, say Hindu nationalists, is a shared culture in which Hindu religion plays a central role. Even Indians who aren’t Hindu have been shaped by this traditional culture. Cultivating pride in that heritage and freeing it from injuries of both British and Mughal domination is the only way, Hindu nationalists believe, to hold this vast and diverse population together. Nehruvian secularism and liberal abstractions like “constitutional patriotism” can’t do the job, they argue.

krithivas · Post by **krithivas** » 02 Aug 2023 00:32

"Hindu nationalists" must be politically inert. "Islamic radicals" and "Christian extermists" have their holy book granted authority to exercise political influence. It is good to see Hindus getting politically active and assertive.

The Lieutenant Governor of Maryland is in hot political water right now as she faces accusations of aggressive politics and receiving donations from Hindu nationalist groups, following an investigation by the Independent. Aruna Miller made it into high state office as the running mate of Wes Moore, the first Black governor of the state, while she became the state’s first Indian American lieutenant governor.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ma ... 0d72&ei=40

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 16 Aug 2023 05:12

sanman · Post by **sanman** » 31 Aug 2023 20:21

hgupta · Post by **hgupta** » 31 Aug 2023 20:48

Surprised that not even one Congressperson objected such as Ilhar Omar.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 31 Aug 2023 22:08

hgupta wrote: ↑31 Aug 2023 20:48 Surprised that not even one Congressperson objected such as Ilhar Omar.

I hope it is an indication that Biden admin is cleaning up SDOTUS augian stables and reigning in the Squad. They have been quiet for a while now. Probably spooked that they might have to reqliquish their grip on the levers of powers come 2024.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 31 Aug 2023 22:28

Looks like DOD/PENTAGON are Good cops and SD/SOROS is bad cop

VKumar · Post by **VKumar** » 31 Aug 2023 22:40

Looks like diaspora is supporting Trump

bala · Post by **bala** » 31 Aug 2023 23:40

If Vivek Ramaswamy becomes the VP candidate of Trump, then diaspora will be fully behind. The battle lines will be drawn clear, the deep state might try some stunt to thwart them. If Trump prevails in US elections then China is toast, Vivek and Trump have sided with Russia and India and hence the new grouping of US, Russia and India is enough to take on China once and for all.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 31 Aug 2023 23:43

VKumar wrote: ↑31 Aug 2023 22:40 Looks like diaspora is supporting Trump

We cannot make such a blanket statement. Some diaspora in CA are waking up to the realities, IMHO.

In anycase, diaspora vote doesn't matter. Only their money matters - to an extent. One thing we, the diaspora, can do is to talk up for India. Every other immigrant community does it their own country-of-origin's interests. They do this even if they are 2nd or 3rd generation immigrants.

Jay · Post by **Jay** » 01 Sep 2023 21:37

bala wrote: ↑31 Aug 2023 23:40 If Vivek Ramaswamy becomes the VP candidate of Trump, then diaspora will be fully behind.

It's not a given Bala sir. Amongst first gen immigrants, the support is clearly towards modi/trump/vivek/GOP, but beyond that, there is minimal support for trump/vivek/GOP. This upcoming elections is when a significant number of 2nd gen diaspora will get to vote.