The American obsession.

The Obama visit has elicited the same old Indian Reactions. Are we the friends that the Americans really want? Do they prefer us over Pakistan? Will we get unstinted support from them in all our endeavours? Shouldn't they be cultivating us since we're more genuine and above all, a democracy?

The questions are endless but many of the originators of these riddles are 'greenhorns' insofar as international relations between countries are concerned. In matters of international relations and diplomacy, it is permanent interests that determine a country's actions rather than friendships. For instance, the yanks are engaged with the Pakistanis in their fight against terror and more importantly, bring Osama Bin Laden - the 9/11 perpetrator - to book. Towards this end, it's important for the yanks to keep the Pakis in good humour and by uttering something against them, from Indian soil, would definitely have a retarding effect and more importantly, endanger their troops fighting in Afghanistan. It's another matter that Pakistan is in real trouble, in that, the Yanks have long since realised that they're and have been playing the dangerous game of 'running with the hare and hunting with the hounds'!

And Obama's visit to this country has been badly timed, coming as it is, soon after the drubbing that his party has undergone in the elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives. He'd campaigned vigorously against outsourcing of jobs as an important step to kickstart the American economy and offer more jobs for his countrymen. So how can he sing a different tune for the sake of making India feel good?

But what needs to be understood and appreciated is that the Yanks now fully understand the importance of teaming up with India and has been taking significant steps in this regard. It is, therefore, upto our government to take this forward to establish a meaningful patnership between the two countries on an equal footing!

It's hightime that India realises that it does not require American endorsement in everything that she does!!