The Hindu Business Line : The TAO of US-India relations

There needs to be action by all parties having any interest in a true handshake of synergies between the US and India. The civil nuclear deal is in the last stages of being framed and unless the nine contentious issues, the nine pins standing, are resolved, the whole framework may fall apart.

Though the TAO (Tasks for Achieving Objectives) for a giant leap in US-

India relations are constantly evolving, four crucial tasks need immediate and precise action. Members of Parliament have objected to nine key clauses contained in the US House of Representative and Senate versions of the deal. It is critical that the US Senate, House, executive branch, corporate lobbyists, Indian American pressure groups, think tanks, and the media take fuller cognisance of the ground realities in India and act with urgency and not get misled by mere "passage of the deal in the Senate".

Interpreting message across cultures

India has matrixed itself into a corner where it almost cannot accept any variation to the July 18 parameters of the nuclear deal, a message that was loud and clear in the speech by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to Parliament on August 17, made due to compelling domestic pressures, which had been building up ever since July 18, 2005.

A failure by the stakeholders to accord due seriousness to the message emanating from Indian democracy may prove disastrous for the fate of the deal. High context cultures such as India, where the exact verbal or written words may not be the complete message, seldom articulate a message that is cut and dried like a lawyer's brief.

Such clear-cut messages are more the hallmark of low context cultures, such as the US, where the totality of the message is supposed to be captured by the exact written or verbal word. Dr Manmohan Singh's speech was low in context, as it clearly defined the parameters of US-India civil nuclear cooperation and did not leave much to imagination.

The message is simple — the Indian executive branch may well be forced to walk away from the deal if its contours are pressured beyond the July 18 joint statement. Any and all stakeholders, opinion leaders, and decision-makers need to consider this message at its face value.

All hands on deck

Recognising the ramifications of the message, it is necessary for all hands to focus their efforts on resolving the nine contentious issues, rather than diluting their energies in symbolisms. Of course, the US executive branch is focused on the nuts and bolts; and of course the paid lobbyists are expected to lob ideas to change specific clauses.

However, the broader players in public diplomacy comprising the Indian American community, the think tanks, and other sympathisers of the deal, are paying inadequate attention to the irritants in the deal.

This oversight of the broader public diplomacy in not addressing the core and specific issues of disagreement between the US and India may prove to be a costly mistake. Public diplomacy by the commons, and opinion leaders within the commons, have to intervene urgently and intelligently to address the realpolitik of US-India relations.

It may be the classic trap of everybody thinking that somebody else is minding the store and nobody ends up doing the task.

The different layers of lobbying have to mesh for pragmatic US-India relations and ensure that symbolisms, imagery, and the nuts and bolts are aligned to deliver the TAO of mutual synergies between the oldest and the largest democracy on this planet.

Win minor battles

Knock down as many pins now.

There are expectations in many quarters that most, if not all, contentious issues will be addressed at the conference stage. The assumption, rightly so, is that the US administration will have a more relevant role to play at the stage when the final version of the Bill is being negotiated between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

However, this strategy raises the stakes at the conference stage. It would be far more pragmatic to remove as many barriers to success as possible at the earliest, so that the interlocutors at the conference stage have fewer battles to fight.

There are lessons to be learnt from Sun Tzu's advocacy on the timing and size of battles — victory in war is better assured if you have won the minor battles in time. Why create a mega battle if you have the time, strategy, and ability to win the minor battles?

Lately there have been references to the growing voice of the Indian American community in mainstream America and comparisons are being made with the clout wielded by the Jewish American community. At this critical juncture, the Indian American community needs to take another leaf from Jewish methods — their success more often than not has been due to an acute attention to details, winning minor battles decisively and averting mega battles.

Thus, the task is clear for the proponents, pressure groups and paid lobbyists of a paradigm shift in US-India relations — they should act now to zero in and resolve as many of the nine contentious issues, before the conference.

Recognise, influence TAO of global affairs

The concept of TAO is based upon the understanding that the only constant in the universe is change (that is, I Ching, the "Book of Changes"), and that one must understand and be in harmony with this change. The possibilities of change in the US-India relations are immense and these changes will in turn define the TAO of global affairs in the 21st century. Lawmakers and the publics in both the US and India need to recognise and influence this change to the best of their abilities.

Attention to TAO will yield a better TAO of US-India relations and global affairs.

(The author is an analyst and entrepreneur in the US-India relations and public diplomacy.)

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