With Narendra Modi all set to become the Prime Minister, Indian—Americans feel that “policy paralysis” would be a thing of the past and want India and the US to reset their strategic relationship.
“The euphoria is over. Now the job begins. It is my belief that the two countries should look at some kind of a 100—day active effort to really build the relationship, which frankly has been at a low point (for some time now),” said M.R.Rangaswami, an Indian-American entrepreneur.
Based in Silicon Valley, Rangaswami is the founder of Indiaspora, which hosted the first ever Indian American inaugural ball for US President Barack Obama in January 2013.
“This is the opportunity to say, here is the new Prime Minister. Let’s work together. Let’s build some trust and move forward,” Rangaswami said, adding the two countries should start their relationship by focusing on easy issues and not the contentious issues, like intellectual property rights.
For instance, President Obama could push for reforms of the UN Security Council with India being its permanent member and the Modi Government could announce visa on arrival for US citizens, Rangaswami said.
He said the move would immediately inject huge tourist dollars into India and also build trust with the US.
“A good relationship between US and India is absolutely essential to champion democracy in the world. This relation is also important for a stable world and economic growth in both the countries,” said Gururaj Deshpande, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur, who is best known for co—founding the Chelmsford, internet equipment manufacturer Sycamore Networks.
Noting that the US has had its difficulty in dealing with Modi as they have been selective in denying Visa to him, he said the US needs to amend its position and move forward.
“Now that Narendra Modi has a clear mandate, hopefully India will move away from grid locked coalition politics and move forward with the progressive politics. Modi has proved to be a strong leader and is fully capable of taking the country forward,” he said.
“India needs to get back to economic growth of seven to 10 per cent growth. Inclusive economic growth is the best tool to move a big section of the society out of poverty,” Deshpande said.
“The India—US relationship needs to be reset immediately by both sides with a view to strengthening it economically, technologically, militarily and geopolitically. India can and should be the US’ strongest ally in Asia and equally the US can be India’s strongest ally globally,” said Ninan Chacko, global CEO of PR Newswire.
“The promise of the relationship which had been championed by previous US administrations, needs to be backed up with tangible and strong action. For example, India can and should be a predictable ally for the US,” he said.
