Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India: poll Wed Mar 1, 11:44 PM ET
NEW DELHI (AFP) - A modest 45 percent of Indians consider George W. Bush a friend of India, according to a poll published here as the US President paid a maiden visit to the emerging power.
Some 41 percent of respondents to the Hindustan Times survey on Thursday said Bush was not a friend of India. But 63 percent thought New Delhi was strong enough to avoid domination by another country while 27 percent did not.
The survey was conducted by research organisation C fore conducted the survey in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata on February 28.
A representative sample of 648 people were questioned in their homes or offices. Only people aware that Bush was arriving on Wednesday night were interviewed.
Inviting Bush home for dinner appealed to 45 percent of respondents, but 43 percent said they would not put on a meal for him.
While 58 percent said the US leader has been “bad for the world but good for India”, 27 percent disagreed.
Just over half of respondents agreed that the United States was “more pro-Pakistan than pro-India”. Some 28 percent disagreed and 19 percent said they did not know
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
LOL!
It’s still rude to not offer food to the guest.
On a serious note, I’m quite surprised. I thought Indians would all be for him given that the two countries have had good relations for a long time. This is really a news to me.
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
This is hardly a scientific poll. This is the result of a poll on the hindustan times web site. A more accurate poll is this: Reports of online shopping fraud have fallen since 2020
Most Indians have a favorable view of the US and Americans.
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
Most Indians are not Anti-American. The Anti-American sentiments in India seems to be mostly within the Muslim community. As a matter of fact, according to the above poll, more Indians favor GW than do Americans.
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
Meaningless.
All Bush has to do is disagree with India on a major issue, have American companies choose a different outsourcing destination (or curtain the practice), and we'll see how quickly anti-Americanism returns. Not that it's fair, but that's just human nature.
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
A decade and a half? I think you are confusing a shift from suspicion to indifference for good relations. Can you highlight a few prominent positives of the decade and a half long cooperation between India and the US?
It isnt a decade yet since US imposed economic sanction on India, to get an NPT/CTBT signature. It is only post 9/11 that US has considered investing in friendly relations with India, but will not do so outright as long as Pakistan holds value for it, which will be quite a while.
As for curtailing outsourcing to India, is there really a more cost effective alternative? Would (even) an american president be stupid enough to strike hard at the heart of capitalism?
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
it’s not that they are “anti-american” in the emotional sense like pakistanis.
but a significant percentage of indians disagree with american policies and actions in the ideological sense and generally look down on the US. this is especially true amongst the “elite” and highly-educated. the current internal opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal is a reflection of a belief that many Indians hold about the two countries’ relationship…they just don’t trust the US and would rather stay away. of course, they don’t always use their heads when making such decisions.
India and the US have had a historically unpleasant relationship, and India’s socialist tendencies continue to hold strong over the current indian population.
however, it should be noted that though there is a populist hatred for Bush, there was a general satisfaction with Clinton.
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
Interesting views.
One individual said it's mainly the Muslims in India who are anti-American, while the queer and nikhil said it's people in general as well.
I didn't know America imposed sanctions on India for not signing the contract (I'm assuming it's to resist from making nuclear weapons).
Given that a few of you have stated how India and US haven't had the best ties in the past, could someone briefly summarise events that would justify it.
I know for instance US was supposed to provide Pakistan with some fighter jets, which Pakistan paid for, but haven't recieved to this day.
As for the elite looking down upon the US, shouldn't it be the other way around? I thought it's usually the poor in the country (Pakistan, India, etc.) who would look down upon the US, as they would be the ones neglected or more likely negatively effected. Afterall the elite could most likely be involved in the business sector and would be making reasonable profits.
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
you are getting it wrong again.
the avg indian is not anti-american. indians arent pro-american either. just like indians arent pro or anti UK or german. india, as per the constitution, is a socialist country. ideologically india and the US have had diverse goals in the past, but share common goals in the future. indian foreign policy has almost never been pro-america in the past, while pak has been on the US allies list for decades (who’s benefitted from this is another matter).
the anti-american indians currently are mostly old communists, muslims and leftists who are anti on the iraq policy.
to drive home the point, you mention the US-Pak F-16 deal which US “honored” with soybean sacks. until 5 yrs ago it was inconceivable that india would be able to even think of buying F-16s from the US. that is how india-US relations have been in the past.
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
queer, thanks for the clarification. To sum it up, Indians in general have been more or less neutral with the exception of Indian Muslims and a few other groups, correct?
Also, if you don't mind me asking, what were some diverse interest and goals that the two nations have differed on? I'm only asking for the sake of learning. I know F16 jets have been a big issue for Pak and also that US has used Pakistan for its own purposes for a few too many times.
Or would it be appropriate if I start another thread?
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
i just noticed that the biggest “event” that defined the unpleasantness of the Indo-US relationship was not mentioned to you in this thread.
it basically goes back to the Cold War and the resulting alliances. India had gravitated towards the Soviets while Pakistan had gravitated towards the US. this is how the US’s famous “tilt” towards Pakistan in the 1971 war came about.
Re: Less than half Indians consider Bush a friend of India
sure…here is a brief overview of the situation:
The Tilt: The U.S. and the South Asian Crisis of 1971
Discussing the martial law situation in East Pakistan during March of 1971, President Richard Nixon, in his February 9, 1972 State of the World report to Congress indicated that the “United States did not support or condone this military action.” Nevertheless, the U.S. did nothing to help curtail the genocide and never made any public statements in opposition to the West Pakistani repression.(4)
Instead, by using what Nixon and Kissinger called quiet diplomacy, the Administration gave a green light of sorts to the Pakistanis. In one instance, Nixon declared to a Pakistani delegation that, “Yahya is a good friend.” Rather than express concern over the ongoing brutal military repression, Nixon explained that he “understands the anguish of the decisions which [Yahya] had to make.” As a result of Yahya’s importance to the China initiative and his friendship with Nixon and Kissinger, Nixon declares that the U.S. “would not do anything to complicate the situation for President Yahya or to embarrass him. (Document 9).” Much like the present situation post 9/11, Washington was hesitant to criticize Pakistan publicly out of fear that such a tactic might weaken the dictator’s support for American interests.
As the conflict in the Sub-continent began to grow, so did criticism of American policy leanings toward Pakistan. The administration denied that any specific anti-India policy was being followed. Declassified documents show that in addition to tilting towards Pakistan in its public statements, the U.S. also followed a pro-Pakistan line in the UN, in discussions with China, and on the battlefield as well.
Not only did the United States publicly pronounce India as the aggressor in the war, but the U.S. sent the nuclear submarine, U.S.S. Enterprise, to the Bay of Bengal, and authorized the transfer of U.S. military supplies to Pakistan, despite the apparent illegality of doing so.(5) American Military assistance was formally cutoff to both India and Pakistan. A combination of Nixon’s emotional attachment to General Yahya and his dislike for Indira Gandhi, West Pakistan’s integral involvement with the China initiative and Kissinger’s predilection for power politics greatly influenced American policy decision-making during this conflict.
and this is the US State Department’s official overview:
** Foreign Relations, 1969-1976, Volume XI, South Asia Crisis, 1971**
On November 22, India launched an offensive against East Pakistan. The Nixon Administration cut off economic aid to India, and Nixon himself decided to “tilt” toward Pakistan. This pro-Pakistan policy included support of Pakistan in the United Nations and pressure on the Soviets to discourage India, with accompanying hints that U.S.-Soviet détente would be in jeopardy if Moscow did not comply. When Nixon learned that Indian war plans were designed to liberate “Bangladesh” and southern Kashmir, and to destroy Pakistan’s military armored and air strength, he ordered the U.S. carrier Enterprise and its escorts into the Bay of Bengal. At the President’s instruction, Kissinger met with People’s Republic of China Ambassador to the United Nations Huang Hua to brief him on the crisis and U.S. actions, and to suggest that China make military moves in support of Pakistan. The implication conveyed by Kissinger was that if the Soviet Union responded militarily, the United States would support China in any confrontation with the Soviet Union.
