U.S.-India Relationship

Re “A New Light on India,” editorial, May 29: From your perspective, the two issues that are not smooth in the United States’ relationship with India are nuclear weapons development and Kashmir. The U.S. Administration was aware of nuclear weapons development in Pakistan since the time of U.S. involvement in the Afghanistan war, yet failed to take any measures to stop it.

On the second issue, Islamic fundamentalists from Afghanistan to Algeria, with active military and other logistics, support Pakistan. These countries are engaged in driving out minorities--the worst ethnic cleansing--from Kashmir and have declared jihad against India. India has more Muslims than Pakistan and is a secular country. Kashmir has a distinct tradition, and has a significant number of Hindu and Buddhist minorities. Kashmir Muslims do not have any ethnic affinity with eastern Pakistan Muslims, and the unification of Kashmir with Pakistan could be as volatile as that of the former East and West Pakistan. Furthermore, if the Islamic fundamentalists succeed in Kashmir, the impact will be very serious on secular India and its large Muslim population.

NIRODE C. MOHANTY

Huntington Beach

* When India became independent, its leaders wanted the country to occupy its rightful place on the world stage. For, though India is a poor country, it has been fortunate to have a visionary and intellectual leadership for most of the past 47 years. I submit that it is the failure of successive U.S. administrations to see that what India wanted is to be treated as an equal that caused the U.S. to view India with suspicion. Accustomed to dealing with adversaries and supplicants, the U.S. never apparently figured out how to deal effectively with the largest democracy in the world.

While the failures of the Indian government and society got ample coverage both in India and abroad, the real story of India’s achievements has not been told in the West until now. It is ironic that the achievements of the Indian system (strong democracy, an independent judiciary, a free press, a highly trained scientific/engineering work force) are getting noticed only when American businesses realize that a buck or two can be made in India.

KISHORE K. YALAMANCHILI

Los Angeles

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