Amid warming India-US ties, defining ‘democratic norms’ becomes a sticking point

Name: Defiant Indian farmers continue to protest after deadly clash on Republic Day
Uploaded: 2021-02-15T02:46:35.000Z
Duration: 2 min 4 s
Description: Defiant Indian farmers continue to protest after deadly clash on Republic Day

Under Trump, there was little official criticism of eroding religious freedoms in India under the Modi government

Will the Biden administration put democratic values or the ‘China threat’ at the forefront of bilateral relations?

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Indian farmers protesting at the Delhi Ghazipur Border near New Delhi. The US government’s criticism of India’s suspension of the internet during protests has stoked tensions between the two countries. Photo: EPA/EFE

Pranay Sharma

Published: 10:46am, 15 Feb 2021Updated: 10:52pm, 15 Feb 2021

When US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke last week, both agreed on the need for a “rules-based international order and a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific”’.

But the readouts that Washington and New Delhi provided on the chat revealed the two countries’ differences on some key issues, even as they pledged to address the challenges posed by Covid-19, climate change and the revival of a moribund global economy.

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Defiant Indian farmers continue to protest after deadly clash on Republic Day

While Washington’s statement mentioned commitment to a regional architecture in the Indo-Pacific through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or “Quad” – an informal alliance comprising the US, India, Japan and Australia that is meant to be a bulwark against Beijing’s assertiveness – New Delhi avoided using the term.

And while New Delhi’s statement said the India-US partnership was firmly anchored in a “shared commitment to democratic values”, Washington said Biden underscored his desire to “defend democratic institutions and norms around the world”.

Analysts said India is hesitant to formalise the Quad grouping – that Beijing has denounced – even as the two countries have been locked in a military dispute at their shared Himalayan border for 10 months. Both sides have since last Wednesday started pulling troops back from the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

But the different references to democracy was what drove speculation. Some experts saw Washington’s position as primarily relating to the recent military coup in Myanmar while others viewed it as subtle criticism of New Delhi’s ongoing confrontation with Indian farmers opposing agricultural reforms that they say will only benefit large corporations. The Indian government maintains that the reforms will boost investment in a sector that accounts for nearly 15 per cent of India’s US$2.9 trillion economy but employs about half its workforce.