This past December, the United States and India celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first visit of a US President to India. That President was Dwight Eisenhower (Ike). Since then five other Presidents have come to India. Their visits and they have all had an impact on the manner in which US-India relations have evolved. In my opinion, there have been three stages for the US- India relations to date: * 1947 – 1990: Fledgling Relationship * 1991 – 2016: … [Read more...]
Message from Aligarh: Celebrating diversity essential for India’s future as a world leader
In the 19th century, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in India, sent a message that is as relevant and important today as it was back then. His message was a straightforward and simple one: it was to love all mankind. Sir Syed had a vision not only of peaceful co-existence in a pluralistic society but moreover of collaboration and communal harmony in that society. Why did Sir Syed have such vision and foresight? It was partly … [Read more...]
India can be a standard-setter for democracy worldwide.
This is written from my adopted homeland of the United States of America to celebrate Republic Day in my motherland of India. It is a love letter to acknowledge the enormous privileges and benefits that I received growing up in India and then maturing in the US -- the two largest democratic republics in the world. Because of that duality, I have come to understand that these two great nation states have travelled somewhat parallel paths constitutionally to become the bulwarks of … [Read more...]