Walter Andersen

News India-Times spoke to South Asia expert Walter Andersen for his reaction on the election outcome. Andersen is the Associate Director, South Asia Studies Program, Johns Hopkins University.

* On the domestic front –– In some ways you may see more high-level Indian Americans in the Bush administration, especially Dr. Zach Zachariah of Florida who will be strong contender for Surgeon General. It will be a logical one since they will feel compelled to do something, and that is a very senior position.

* U.S.-India relations –– I think we are not going to see any major change in the policy already in place, whereas there would have been some discontinuity with Kerry, which would have been discomforting for India because the new administration would have been more sensitive to outsourcing.

The Kerry administration would also have put more emphasis on non-proliferation issues which will not be the case now.

Another difference would be that the Kerry administration would have been less intrusive on some strategic issues, for instance on issues like Iraq where the Bush administration has concluded that U.S. interests are directly at stake, and makes Indians uncomfortable. Another thing that may seem a little far-fetched, but Indians really want the Indian Ocean and its littoral as a place that does not have Great Power presence, partly because they want themselves also to be a player there. And the Bush administration to the extent that they do this unilaterally, it makes New Delhi uncomfortable.

Of course, the Bush administration could go on and continue the military relationship under NSSP, but the Kerry administration would have been more careful in its involvement.

The other thing is the Bush administration overlooking some of Musharraf’s retaining military power, cross border activities, drug running, for the sake of maintaining a good relationship, has also disturbed India somewhat, as has

our refusal to put pressure on the Pakistani leadership.

India is also concerned about getting a place on the Security Council, and the Kerry people were at least talking about it, I haven’t seen much from the Bush administration on that.