{"id":38416,"date":"2023-12-01T03:23:10","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T21:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=38416"},"modified":"2025-04-23T10:50:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T05:20:07","slug":"pannun-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/pannun-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pannun-Sized Problem in India-US Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What are the USA\u2019s Charges Against India?<\/li>\n<li>What Preceded the Indictment by the USA?<\/li>\n<li>India\u2019s Reaction to these Unforeseen Developments and Indictment Charges:<\/li>\n<li>US-India Ties &#8211; A Values-Based Relationship or an Interests-Based One<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in News?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India and the US are confronted with a major diplomatic challenge, as an Indian intelligence official stand accused of orchestrating a plot to kill Khalistan separatist (Gurpatwant Singh Pannun) in New York.<\/li>\n<li>The Indian government released a statement suo moto hour earlier, saying it had constituted a high-level inquiry committee (on November 18) to probe \u201call the relevant aspects of the matter\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What are the USA\u2019s Charges Against India?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>According to the indictment, the Indian official (in May 2023) recruited one Nikhil Gupta to kill Pannun.\n<ul>\n<li>This was the month when the Indian PM had travelled to Hiroshima to attend the G7 and Quad leaders\u2019 summit along with US President Joe Biden.<\/li>\n<li>In the same month, the India-US Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap was concluded, which seeks to fast-track technology cooperation and co-production in areas of mutual interest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The indictment said that the Indian official has described himself as a \u201cSenior Field Officer\u201d with responsibilities in \u201cSecurity Management\u201d and \u201cIntelligence.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>He has also been referred to as previously serving in the Central Reserve Police Force and receiving \u201cofficer training\u201d in \u201cbattle craft\u201d and \u201cweapons.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>This is one of the most direct charges made against an Indian government official, and has the potential to cast a shadow on the Indo-US ties &#8211; if not managed in a mature manner.<\/li>\n<li>In Canada, the PM Justin Trudeau said that the news coming out of the US further underscores what we have been talking about from the very beginning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Preceded the Indictment by the USA?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The US indictment comes after months of diplomatic and intelligence-level conversations between Washington and New Delhi.<\/li>\n<li>While the US administration came to know of the plot in July, US NSA Jake Sullivan met NSA Ajit Doval in Jeddah on the sidelines of a meeting on Ukraine in early August.<\/li>\n<li>Within a week, CIA Director William Burns came to India and met the top intelligence apparatus.<\/li>\n<li>Considering it was a sensitive time, in the run-up to the G20, the conversations about the assassination were kept separate from the G20 joint communique negotiations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>India\u2019s Reaction to these Unforeseen Developments and Indictment Charges<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India&#8217;s attitude toward US inputs is notable (cooperative) given how it has previously ignored similar Canadian charges.\n<ul>\n<li>Canada\u2019s PM had alleged the hand of Indian government agencies in the killing of another Khalistan separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.<\/li>\n<li>Delhi did not take this kindly, and even called Canada a \u201csafe haven\u201d for \u201cterrorists, extremists and organised crime\u201d &#8211; a language usually reserved for Pakistan and Afghanistan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>In the US matter, the Indian government has exercised restraint considering the gravity of the charge.<\/li>\n<li>The depth and importance of the ties with the US has been given priority over the allegations against an Indian official.<\/li>\n<li>This shows that the government wants to contain the damage and not let it become a full-fledged diplomatic crisis.\n<ul>\n<li>The MEA spokesperson\u2019s response to the indictment that it is a \u201cmatter of concern\u201d and \u201cis contrary to Indian government\u2019s policy\u201d is an indicator of this approach.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>After all, the Indian government is also keen to have Biden here for the Republic Day celebrations in January next year, along with other Quad leaders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"media\">\n<div data-oembed-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=H2KP3cMcemw\">\n<div><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H2KP3cMcemw\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>US-India Ties &#8211; A Values-Based Relationship or an Interests-Based One<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The US-India ties have truly been forged in crisis over the last 75 years.<\/li>\n<li>The relationship has gone through years of ups and downs,\n<ul>\n<li>From the 1971 war when the US under Nixon-Kissinger took a hostile stance,<\/li>\n<li>The two nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998 which saw sanctions imposed, and<\/li>\n<li>Then the thaw, culminating in the Indo-US nuclear deal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>India&#8217;s relationship with the US has been the most comprehensive association the country has had since independence, as this is truly a relationship forged in crisis.<\/li>\n<li>Despite challenges like the diplomatic differences over the arrest (in 2013) of former deputy consul general in New York (Devyani Khobragade) and the recent divergences over the Russia-Ukraine war, the ties have held steady.<\/li>\n<li>The US is India&#8217;s largest trading partner with a bilateral trade in goods and services crossing US$ 191 billion in 2022, and both countries are acting in coordination to confront Chinese belligerence in the Indo-Pacific region.<\/li>\n<li>Unlike Trump&#8217;s administration, Biden&#8217;s is a Democratic administration that prioritises values.<\/li>\n<li>So, it is in New Delhi\u2019s interest to be transparent with Washington, and take necessary follow-up action based on the findings of the high-level probe committee to avoid any reputational cost.<\/li>\n<li>Delhi\u2019s depth of strategic ties with Washington gives it some manoeuvring space to navigate the turmoil the indictment has unleashed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q1) What is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD)?<\/h3>\n<p>The Quad is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.<\/p>\n<h3>Q2) What is the U.S.-India strategic partnership 2004?<\/h3>\n<p>In 2004, the US and India agreed to expand cooperation in three specific areas: civilian nuclear activities, civilian space programs, and high-technology trade. In addition, the two countries agreed to expand our dialogue on missile defence.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/matter-of-concern-not-our-policy-govt-on-us-charge-we-told-you-so-says-trudeau-9049386\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Matter of concern, not our policy: Govt on US charge; we told you so, says Trudeau<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/the-pannun-sized-problem-in-india-us-ties-9049329\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>IE<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India and the US are confronted with a major diplomatic challenge, as an Indian intelligence official stand accused of orchestrating a plot to kill Khalistan separatist in New York<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":38417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-38416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}