Democracy basis of US-India special bond, says Joe Biden

US President greets India on its Independence Day, recalls Mahatma Gandhi’s message of truth and non-violence

Democracy is the basis of the special bond between the United States and India, President Joe Biden said on Sunday.

Biden recalled Mahatma Gandhi’s “message of truth and non-violence” as he greeted India on its Independence Day. “Today, that foundational commitment to respecting the will of the people through democracy continues to inspire the world and is the basis of the special bond between our two nations,” said the US President.

The Biden Administration has of late been subtly nudging Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to continue to uphold democratic principles and arrest the perceived backsliding in freedom of speech and religion in India, notwithstanding displeasure in New Delhi. This has been emerging as an irritant in India-US relations, despite growing strategic synergy between the two nations, along with other democracies like Japan and Australia, to counter communist China’s hegemonic aspirations in the Indo-Pacific region.

“In this moment of great challenges and opportunities, the partnership between India and the United States is more important than ever,” Biden said on Sunday, adding: “Together, we must show the world that our two great and diverse democracies can deliver for people everywhere.”

Biden’s Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, during his recent visit to New Delhi had tacitly prodded the Modi Government to support media, judiciary and civil society to continue to freely uphold democratic principles in India. He had also underlined that the shared “commitment of India and the United States to democratic values” was part of the “bedrock” of the relationship between the two nations. He had also acknowledged all democracies, including the one in the US, too had flaws.

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“Over the decades, the ties between our people, including a vibrant community of more than four million Indian-Americans, have sustained and strengthened our partnership,” the US President said in his message on the occasion of the Independence Day of India.

He noted that the US and India had come together in new ways as they dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic, including working in partnership with Japan and Australia through the Quad to expand global manufacturing of safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus and to strengthen the “last-mile” coordination to reach people throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

Blinken also on Sunday underlined that the cooperation between the US and India was expanding at an exponential pace as the two nations continued to work together, alongside other partner nations, to advance the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. “The bonds between the United States and India began over seven decades ago and have transformed into a growing partnership. From climate action and clean energy to space technologies, US-India bilateral cooperation is wide-ranging and stronger than ever before,” Biden’s Secretary of State said.

“As I said during my visit to New Delhi, there are few partnerships more vital than the one between the United States and India. Mindful of our seventy-four years of friendship, our two democracies will continue to build a better tomorrow. Happy Independence Day!” Blinken said in his message on the occasion of the Independence Day of India.