In the backdrop of increased military cooperation between India and the United States, the Indian defence establishment has now gained direct access to the Pentagon, which houses the American Department of Defence, for working out issues of “mutual interest”, reports The Tribune.
In another significant development, there have also been reports that India is to station permanent military attaches at the Pacific and Central Commands.
Based at Hawaii, the Pacific Command’s AOR includes the entire Asia Pacific region east of India, while the Central Command, headquartered in Florida, handles the area west of the Indo-Pak international border including Central Asia, Middle East and parts of Africa.
These two attaches would be in addition to the military attaches already posted in the Indian Embassy in Washington.
Earlier at a Asia Security Summit, organised by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the U.S. relationship with India “has grown from an uneasy coexistence during the Cold War to a true partnership based on our common values and common interests today.”
Meanwhile India’s foreign policy analyst C Raja Mohan’s new book, Impossible Allies: Nuclear India, United States and the Global Order, traces the origin and shaping of Indo-US relations over the George W Bush presidency. “In doing so, it also looks into the opportunity for India and the US to forge an alliance based on a convergence of interests for the establishment of peace and order in Asia—acknowledged as a vital part of 21st century global stage.
“In the chapter ‘Rice Brings a Vision’, the author analyses the transformation of views in India about George W Bush and also Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state, both of whom are seen to be architects of the declared US goal “to help India become a major world power in the 21st centuryâ€?. If that’s not grand enough, the US went on to add, “We understand fully the implications, including military implications, of that statement.
“The Pentagon’s regard for India, accordingly, has gone up, and the author devotes at least two chapters to this new esteem in which the country’s defences are held by the world’s preeminent military force as a nation state. This interest is already evident in the frequency of “joint exercisesâ€? and the like.”
And, finally, this is what the Carnegie Report had earlier recommended to the State Department: “The United States must align with India because…By 2015, it will have the fourth most capable concentration of power. It will be among the five major economies in 25-50 years. Can be a counterfoil to China. Can stabilise the region littered with failing states.
“To align with India, the United States must…Help India’s power to grow to prevent China’s dominance. End the illusory idea of military balance between India and Pakistan. Endorse India’s membership in the UN Security Council, G-8, APEC, International Energy Agency. Remove objections to the Iran-India gas pipeline. Allow sale of dual-use technology, including nuclear safety equipment.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.