Namaste Hillary!

Greetings,

Hillary Clinton, as we all know, has undoubtedly been one of the most vibrant politicians of the United States. We saw her as the First lady, then as a Senator and now as the Secretary of State.

Her recent trip received a lot of media attention and a significant level of interest was shown by Indian citizens too.

Ms. Hillary recently suggested that we support Pakistan in its fight against terrorism. I am forced to think, where does this leave India? I hope and pray that this shouldn’t come between the relations that India and US share.

Pardon me for my arrogance, but at this stage, considering the socio economic environment I think the US needs India more than it needs Pakistan. I mean it is a fact that India is not only a huge market but also has a pool of young skilled manpower – former being an opportunity latter being a resource.

It’s customary to shake hands at the diplomacy tables but that need not define the success of the visit. Ms. Hillary’s diplomacy will be considered successful only if every Indian starts adoring her.

A truly wonderful incident with my daughter underlines the core of my thoughts. We were watching the daily news on TV and she came up to me and asked whether India and U.S. are friends. When I said yes, she got really excited and exclaimed wow! Now she might not understand the intensity or finer points of the two country's relationship with each other but her reaction itself proves how important the bond is.
We have older ties with Hillary than we have with Obama. The world might know Obama; but India knows Hillary Clinton!

I leave you with a statement of Ms. Hillary [picked from an interview on ibnlive.in.com] “We do not, however, intend for this to be a dialogue between ministers or even between governments, but between our nations and our peoples, our scientists and our business leaders...and a whole range of each of our country...At a time when the headlines are filled with challenges, the relationship between India and the US is a good news story...and I believe it is going to get even better,”

Regards,
Sanjay Nirupam