R JagannathanFirstpost.com
If there is one man who needs to be given more than a mere footnote in the history books for taking the India-US relationship to a new high, it is not Narendra Modi. While Modi deserves his share of credit, it would be churlish and completely wrong to presume he was the only author of this happy result, now evident in the successful Delhi visit of President Barack Obama.
History will be kinder to me than the media, said Manmohan Singh in one of his last press interactions last January. He is right at least on the issue of India-US ties. Today's Modi-Obama bonhomie, while being attributed to the new chemistry between them, actually rests on the solid foundations built by Manmohan Singh. And, it is worth adding, this bonhomie was almost killed by the BJP playing spoiler when in the opposition during UPA-2. Both the India-US nuclear deal, and the law on civil nuclear liabilities, for which Modi has now found an antidote, were the result of the BJP's unholy exertions then.
The BJP can, of course, claim that yesterday's nuclear deal breakthrough had its origins in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government, when Strobe Talbot and Jaswant Singh broke the post-Pokharan-2 ice in relations, but it was Manmohan Singh's tenacity and willingness to sacrifice his office for the nuclear deal that proved crucial. And it was the BJP that ensured that the deal would become inoperable by foisting an extremely unworkable liabilities legislation on the country.
So Modi's contribution to rescuing the nuclear deal was essentially about undoing the damage inflicted by his own party on Manmohan Singh. The solution seems to the creation of a Rs 1,500 crore insurance pool without changing the liabilities law. Modi can, however, claim credit for getting to the US President to back off from perpetual tracking rights over nuclear fuel - including fuel sourced from non-US sources.
However, where Modi scores over all is in the way he has pursued national interest by putting aside personal pique on being denied a US visa till he was elected Prime Minister. President Obama too made quick moves to amend the situation by inviting Modi to the US last September.
Modi not only grabbed the hand of friendship but used it to build a more focused relationship.
However, the unseen power behind all this change is China. If there had been no China threat to Indian and US interests, it would have been tougher for both Obama and Modi to let bygones be bygones.
What Manmohan Singh could not consummate Modi has done through personal efforts and by building on the former's invaluable contributions to the new India-US cordiality. Manmohan Singh was constrained by the anti-Americanism inbuilt into the Congress party, with its eye on the domestic minority vote, while Modi had none of these constraints.
Modi should not forget to send a sincere thank you note to Manmohan Singh.
The writer is editor-in-chief, digital and publishing, Network18 Group
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