INDIA DRAWS US CLOSER DESPITE DISTRACTIONS

The foreign minister's recent trip to the US snuffed out all talk of coldness creeping into the relationship. Many more strategic engagements are afoot than are usually noted

- KP NAYAR

DURING last fortnight when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's patronage of divisive Indo-Canadians, including some accused of terrorist flirtations, brought Ottawa's relations with New Delhi to its nadir, an entirely contradictory and happy-story was being played out across the border in Washington. In the presence of external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Indian Americans celebrated harmoniously together the season of interfaith festivals: Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Milad-un-Nabi, Gurupurab, Rosh Hashanah and Nowruz.

It was no run-of-the-mill community celebration. The crème de la crème of the Indian American community was in attendance. Many of them spoke at the function and rededicated themselves to India-US relations, which Jaishankar said "will go to the Moon, maybe even beyond". The list of those who did so is long-US Congressman Shri Thanedar, deputy secretary of state for management and resources Richard Verma, director of the American National Science Foundation S Panchanathan, US surgeon general Vivek Murthy, White House director of drug control policy Rahul Gupta, President Joe Biden's domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden, Nisha Biswal, deputy chief executive of America's aid-investment institution, the International Development Finance Corporation. The names go on and on. India's ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, appropriately named the event 'Colours of Friendship'. India's unity in diversity, which is often said to be under threat at home and starkly undermined in Canada, was very much in evidence that evening at India House, the embassy residence in Washington.