As the US President prepares for his India trip, a pro-Republican party think tank has asked him to affirm New Delhi's global role and emphasise the significance of the US-India strategic partnership in balancing China's rise in East Asia.
In view of his electoral setbacks, Barack Obama may be tempted to limit his message to one that focuses on India as a destination for US exports and highlights US-India business collaboration.
"While these are indeed important issues, President Obama must also emphasize the broader significance of the US-India strategic partnership in strengthening democratic forces and balancing China's rise in East Asia," said Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation.
Curtis said Obama has often adopted an overly simplistic approach toward US-India trade and economic ties, focusing on India as an economic competitor to the US.
"While clamping down on outsourcing, President Obama has missed the larger story on the benefits to the US economy from increased investment and trade ties between the two countries," she said, refereeing to the investments being done by Indian companies in the US.
"The President's historic visit to India offers an opportunity to set a new course for the direction of the US-India partnership�one that acknowledges India�s growing global role and the changing Asian strategic landscape that makes strong US-Indian partnership imperative for stability and prosperity in the region," she said.
Curtis said Obama Administration's South Asia policy has focused a tremendous amount of attention on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
India, being the stable and prosperous country in the region, has posed much less of a headache for the White House and thus tended to receive less attention.
"The Obama Administration also squandered some goodwill with the Indians early in its tenure by raising the specter of the appointment of a Kashmir envoy to placate Pakistan.
President Obama has since demonstrated a keener understanding of Indian sensitivities on the issue and is more realistic about the limits of any US role in the decades-old dispute," Curtis noted.
Once in India, Curtis said Obama will face tough questions on counter-terrorism front, especially on American handling of the Mumbai terror suspect David Headley case.
