Devyani Khobragade, who was India's deputy consul-general in New York, was arrested on December 12 while dropping her children off at school in the city. She was charged with one count of visa fraud and another for making false statements about how much she paid her housekeeper. She was strip-searched and detained with criminals. India had expressed outrage over the arrest of Khobragade. India has been demanding the withdrawal of the case against her and an apology from the US for her treatment, including strip-search and detention with criminals after her arrest on December 12. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed 'regret' about the situation last month, but stopped short of saying the authorities had done anything wrong. US law enforcement officials have said that Khobragade's strip-search was standard procedure and that she received a number of privileges not usually accorded to defendants.
Devyani's arrest set off protests in India amid disclosures that she was strip-searched on the day of her arrest. It also soured the broader US-India bilateral ties, leading to the postponement of two visits to India by senior US officials and another by a US business delegation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was chagrined enough to call Khobragade's treatment at the hands of US marshals 'deplorable', and India's National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon said it was 'despicable' and 'barbaric'. India has retaliated by cancelling additional privileges granted to US diplomats in line with the curtailed diplomatic benefits now given to Indian diplomats in Washington. Airport access, liquor licences and identity cards giving full diplomatic immunity to consular officers have been withdrawn. New cards will be issued giving consular staff in India limited immunity as in the United States. Escalating its diplomatic offensive against the US over the arrest and alleged ill treatment of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, recently India asked the US embassy in New Delhi to stop all commercial activities on its premises by January 16. Amid the uproar, Indian authorities removed concrete barriers from outside the US embassy.
The US government had asked Devyani to leave the country and already she has reached India. But USA has not withdrawn the case against Devyani and they have said that if she returns, she will be arrested. Initially, observers believed Khobragade's return signalled tensions had been defused. But an announcement late Friday that India had ordered a US diplomat to leave in apparent reprisal for its envoy's treatment in New York suggested New Delhi was still angry.
The problem has not been solved yet. Naturally, the question arises whether the bilateral relations between the USA and India are going to turn cold or not. The diplomatic row over the arrest and strip-search of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade by US law enforcement officers has become a genuine crisis in bilateral relations. The dispute threatens to derail a decade of hard work put in for the forming of the India-US "strategic partnership". Both India and USA are strategic partners. They cannot ignore their strategic partnership. The present Indian government might have been bound to take some steps against US diplomats considering the upcoming national election. They have tried to send a message to the common people of India that they do not compromise on the national image and national interest with anyone. The incident will not affect bilateral relations between the USA and India. Both parties have already admitted that the incident was unacceptable and undesirable, but "it will not impact on our bilateral relations".
Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid described the episode as a 'mini crisis' and expected that the problem would be solved through negotiations. The ongoing spat between India and the US over the diplomat Devyani Khobragade issue would not leave impact on commercial ties between the two countries, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said in New Delhi. "India is outraged over the treatment given to Ms. Devyani but our relationship with the US is far too important. It is a strategic partnership between the two largest democracies of the world. Strategic in every sense, so we are not disengaging. This relationship will grow stronger," Mr. Sharma told reporters in New Delhi. The State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Marie Harf, told reporters, when asked if the US was hopeful that the issue would be resolved: "As I've said, many, many times throughout this whole ordeal, that we don't want this to define our relationship going forward and don't think that it will." Ms Harf said that the US does not want India-US ties to be affected by the arrest of the Indian diplomat in New York last month on visa fraud charges. The US, however, insists that this is an isolated incident and was focused on "where to go from here because, as we've always said, the relationship with India is incredibly important." President Obama has called the US-India relationship "defining partnership of the 21st century". The US-India relationship, which has blossomed over the last decade, is crucial not only for regional peace and security in South Asia, but also for the stabilisation of Afghanistan, for ebbing the forces of religious extremism and for ensuring a fair balance of power in Asia.
India-US bilateral relations have developed into a global strategic partnership, based on increasing convergence of interests on bilateral, regional and global issues. The bilateral cooperation is now broad-based and multi-sectoral, covering trade and investment, defence and security, education, science and technology, cyber security, high technology, civil nuclear energy, space technology and applications, clean energy, environment, agriculture and health. Given these important strategic goals, it would seem reckless to squander the India-US partnership fruits over a version of 'nannygate'. President Obama surely wouldn't want to lose India, a country for which there has been consistent bipartisan support in Washington. Similarly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who staked his government on the successful conclusion of the 2008 civil nuclear deal with the United States, wouldn't want the relationship to deteriorate as his term nears its end.
The writer is an undergraduate student, Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka.
Email: imranabdulla43@gmail.com
Devyani row fallout: US-India bilateral ties
Abdulla Al Imran | Published: January 25, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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