Behind India’s pivotal — and controversial — relationship with the U.S.

“The 360” shows you diverse perspectives on the day’s top stories and debates.

What’s happening

President Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a lavish state dinner at the White House last week to cap off a visit both leaders said was crucial to strengthening ties in an increasingly important partnership.

India’s rapid growth of the past several decades into an economic and population powerhouse has turned the country into one of America’s most critical global partners. While the two nations have many overlapping interests — including trade and a mutual adversary in China — there are also plenty of areas of disagreement. Those matters echoed loudly in the background throughout Modi’s trip to Washington.

Since gaining independence more than 75 years ago, India has resisted aligning too strongly with any one global power. India has continued that tradition into today by refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and doing business with a Moscow regime that has been cut off by most Western powers.

But the biggest area of friction between the U.S. and India may be Modi himself. Since becoming prime minister nine years ago, Modi has been accused of undertaking a systematic campaign to undermine democracy in his country by stifling dissent and disenfranchising India’s religious minorities. His chief political rival was kicked out of the country’s parliament last month for mocking him in a speech. Modi’s government has also cracked down on the free press and blocked media critical of him from being shared online.

Though India is officially a secular government, Modi’s Hindu nationalist party has enacted a series of policies that rights groups say are specifically designed to discriminate against the country’s roughly 200 million Muslim citizens. International oversight agencies and the U.S. government have also noted a troubling rise in violence against Muslims in India over the past several years. Before he became prime minister, Modi was once denied entry to the United States over claims that he failed to do enough to stop riots that left nearly 1,000 Muslims dead while serving as chief minister of Gujarat state.

Why there’s debate

The perceived degradation of India’s democracy on Modi’s watch created what many observers categorized as a tricky strategic crossroads for Biden, who has portrayed the defense of democracy around the world as the central pillar of his foreign policy agenda.

Several human rights groups and a number of progressive members of Congress urged Biden to challenge Modi over his “long history of human rights abuses.” Biden declined to do so publicly, instead choosing to praise Modi for his leadership and repeatedly emphasize the importance of a strong relationship between the two nations.

Many international relations experts supported Biden’s decision to focus on areas of agreement, rather than pick a fight over Modi’s alleged wrongdoings. They argue that the U.S. can’t possibly achieve its goals around the world if it alienates its most valuable partner in a critical region. Some experts add that American leaders will be in a better position to promote democracy in India if the two nations are on good terms, while others make the case that no amount of criticism from outside its borders will have any real effect on India’s internal affairs.

But critics say that by declining to publicly rebuke Modi, Biden is betraying his duty to protect persecuted groups across the globe. And some of these critics argue that Biden has ample room to stand up for democracy without meaningfully harming the relationship between the two countries.

What’s next

Like the U.S., India will hold a pivotal national election next year. Modi is extremely popular in his home country and is widely expected to win another five-year term as prime minister.

Perspectives

Americans shouldn’t delude themselves about their relationship with India

“Don’t be naive, my dear American friends. India will never be your ally. … If you’re expecting monogamy, prepare to be disappointed. India has reserved the right to flirt with Russia, Iran — and even China — if its national interests dictate such a need.” — Barkha Dutt, Washington Post

The onus should fall on India to keep the U.S. happy, not the other way around

“India is an important country, and the Biden administration is right to pursue closer ties. But unless Mr. Modi can find a way to close the gap with China and embrace all Indians equally, the durability of America’s bet on India will remain in question.” — Sadanand Dhume, Wall Street Journal

India can’t be a real partner unless it has a genuine democracy

“The challenge for Biden and other world leaders is how to get a genuine win for democracy in India — how to not only recruit it into the democratic alliance, but also persuade its leaders to reverse course and safeguard constitutional rights and freedoms. Some contend these goals are in tension, but in fact they are one and the same. An autocratic India will be no fast friend in the struggle against autocracies. A sustainable alliance requires genuinely shared values.” — Ricken Patel, Los Angeles Times

It’s time for the U.S. to accept that its relationship with India is purely transactional

“Rather than considering India an ally in the fight for global democracy, it must see that India is an ally of convenience. This shift will not be easy, given that Washington has spent decades looking at New Delhi through rose-colored glasses. But the pivot will encourage both sides to understand that their relationship is ultimately transactional—and allow them to get down to business.” — Daniel Markey, Foreign Affairs

America’s enemies are too dangerous to risk pushing away its friends

“Mr. Biden has concluded, much as his predecessors did, that he needs India despite concerns over human rights just as he believes he needs Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and other countries that are either outright autocracies or do not fit into the category of ideal democracies. At a time of confrontation with Russia and an uneasy standoff with China, Mr. Biden is being forced to accept the flaws of America’s friends.” — Peter Baker and Mujib Mashal, New York Times

Biden has proved that his talk of defending democracy was just empty rhetoric

“[The] Biden administration does not care about human rights in India. If they did, there is absolutely no way that they would be hosting Modi right now.” — Audrey Truschke, Rutgers University South Asian history professor, to Time

Even if criticizing Modi would be unwise, there’s no need to celebrate him

“The United States understandably wants to — and should — cultivate good relations with India as a country and with its people. … But the pattern and direction of human rights violations and democratic backsliding to the point of danger in India make it clear that a state dinner, which necessarily celebrates a country’s leader even more than the country itself, should never have been undertaken in the first place.” — Viola Gienger, Just Security

India and the U.S. can have an incredibly beneficial partnership if the two sides stay on good terms

“Imagine the U.S., the world’s biggest economy with the strongest military force, joining forces with India, the planet’s most populous country and the world’s largest — if very flawed — democracy, situated in one of the globe’s most strategic locations.” — Frida Ghitis, CNN

Nothing Biden can say would have any real influence on what happens in India

“The proposition that the United States, which can’t even manage to help next-door Haiti fix its democracy problems, can do something about democracy in faraway India was always an illusion. The battle to uphold democratic values in India is a political task for Indians and can’t be fought by liberals from abroad.” — C. Raja Mohan, Foreign Policy

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