US president Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and the top brass of his administration, will kickstart an eagerly awaited tour of India today, a visit expected to significantly ramp up bilateral defence and strategic ties, but unlikely to produce tangible outcome in resolving thorny issues like trade tariffs. The US president's visit to India comes at a time when the country has been witnessing wide-spread protests against a new citizenship law, and strain in New Delhi's ties with Islamabad over the Kashmir issue.
There are also questions over the kind of issues that Trump could raise—from acrimony over trade and tariffs between the two countries, to contentious issues like mediation in Kashmir—in his visit.
It all began about 60 years ago when Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first US president to visit India to give a fillip to bilateral relationship which has seen many ups and downs to finally settle down in the last few decades as a strategic partnership. With the hype around Donald Trump's maiden visit to India as US president reaching a crescendo, here is a trip down the memory lane on tours by previous American presidents.
Dwight D. Eisenhower (visited from December 9-14, 1959)
It was a landmark maiden visit, in the midst of the Cold War. India's non-aligned stance between the US and the Soviet Union was a major sticking point for the United States, and the India-US relations were far from cordial. India, however, was significant for the West vis-a-vis putting pressure on China. Eisenhower was greeted with a 21-gun salute, and he went on to meet President Rajendra Prasad and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He delivered a packed public speech at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan and addressed the Parliament. His personal bonhomie with Prime Minister Nehru was on full display, and he was also given a tour of the Taj Mahal in Agra with Nehru accompanying him to the iconic monument.
Richard Nixon (visited from July 31-August 1, 1969)
The Nixon presidency was an unmitigated disaster for India. His personal admiration, openly expressed many times, for Pakistani dictator General Yahya Khan was compounded by his intense dislike towards Indira Gandhi. The feeling was mutual. In the 1971 Bangladesh War, Nixon and his national security advisor Henry Kissinger openly supported Pakistan, aiding them with weapons and resources in their war against India. He had a pronounced distaste for India. "The most basic [reason] was the Cold War: presidents of the US since Harry Truman had been frustrated by India's policy of non-alignment, which Nixon, much like his predecessors, viewed as Nehruvian posturing. India was on suspiciously good terms with the Soviet Union," according to writer Gary J. Bass in The Blood Telegram: India's Secret War in East Pakistan. Nixon's visit to India could not match the euphoria and excitement of Eisenhower's. He stayed in the country for less than a day and it achieved little.
Jimmy Carter (visited from January 1-3, 1978)
Carter's visit came just months after the Janata Party's Morarji Desai succeeded Indira Gandhi as the country's prime minister. During his three-day visit, President Carter addressed the Parliament and visited a village near Delhi, which was later named after him. His visit was aimed at mending ties between India and the US against the backdrop of the 1971 Bangladesh War and the growing concerns over nuclear tests conducted in 1974.
Bill Clinton (visited from March 19-25, 2000)
This was a presidential visit from America after over two decades, and many regarded it as a game-changing event during which Clinton and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee set the tone for deepening of bilateral ties. The visit also came at a tricky time in the backdrop of the US imposing sanctions on India following its nuclear test and the Kargil War. Its May 1998 nuclear tests were being condemned by the world as an act of nuclear irresponsibility by a small power that was yet to develop a robust national security apparatus But, the Kargil crisis was a turning point. India's fight with Pakistani intruders in the Kargil range brought about a sweeping, positive change in the world's perception of India's role in South Asia. During the crisis, India refused to send its prime minister to Washington for a US-mediated parley with Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Get them out of Kargil, and we will talk, was the line that Vajpayee gave president Bill Clinton. The latter had no option but to ask Sharif to climb down from Kargil unilaterally.
Also, the Kandahar hijacking incident, where an Indian Airlines airplane was hijacked and held hostage in Afghanistan in return for three terrorists, revealed the nexus between the Taliban in Kabul and the Pakistan regime.
Clinton visited several popular tourist destinations like Agra, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Mumbai, besides Delhi. More importantly, the visit signified the beginning of the Indo-US strategic and economic partnership. During the visit, Clinton signed the Joint Statement on Energy and the Environment and also addressed Parliament.
George W Bush (visited from March 1-3, 2006)
Bush and First Lady Laura Bush visited during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's first term in office. During his stay, Bush delivered a speech before a select audience at Delhi's Purana Qila. But the visit will be remembered for the finalisation of the nuclear deal which later allowed India to pursue nuclear commerce.
Barack Obama (first visit from November 69, 2010)
It was a visit that sent all the right messages for deepening and strengthening of strategic Indo-US ties. In a break from the past, Obama landed in Mumbai. The message was not just for trade, but as a show of solidarity with the victims of the Mumbai attacks which had rocked India's financial capital just two years prior to the visit. During the visit, Obama also expressed support for India's bid for a permanent seat in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council. Michelle Obama, who had accompanied her husband on the trip, charmed Indians as she danced with children at an event in Mumbai. During the visit Obama, who had come with a large business delegation, attended the U.S.-India Business and Entrepreneurship Summit in Mumbai and addressed the Indian Parliament.
Barack Obama (second visit from January 24-27, 2015)
In 2015, when Obama again visited along with First Lady Michelle, he became the first US President to visit the country twice while in office. It was indeed a trip of many firsts, as Obama was also the first US President to be the chief guest at India's Republic Day Parade. He met President Pranab Mukherjee and held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Deepening of strategic ties in sectors such as trade, defence and climate change were at the centre of deliberations during the visit, which also saw an emphasis on the Indo-Pacific strategy.
-Inputs from PTI
