US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who made a visit to India in July, is the seniormost US official to come to India since the Obama administration came to power in the US this year.

Her visit, lasting five days, represented an attempt by the current US government to cement and expand the growing Indo-US ties, in the context in which the US is stepping up its offensive in Afghanistan and its pressure on Pakistan.

Both the US bourgeoisie, which is seeking to expand its markets in the context of the economic crisis of capitalism, and the Indian bourgeoisie, which wants American technology and weapons in its drive to grow more powerful, are keen to expand their civilian and military commerce. While making all the noises that the Indian government and bourgeoisie wanted to hear, about India being a ‘global power’, and demonstrating sympathy with victims of the 26 November Mumbai terrorist attack, Clinton secured two important agreements on the military front. One, known as the ‘end user monitoring agreement’, allows the US to monitor how India uses military technology and weapons systems which it purchases from the US. The other has identified two ‘nuclear parks’ in India where US companies will have exclusive right to build nuclear reactors.  Both these clear the way for a massive increase in Indo-US military commerce.

On the issue of climate change, Clinton reiterated the demand of the US and other advanced industrial powers that countries like India (and China) put clear limits on their greenhouse gas emissions. Here, the Indian government refused to agree on the grounds that this would place unacceptable brakes on economic growth in this country. However, this exchange was presented as part of an ongoing ‘strategic dialogue’ on a range of issues rather than as a confrontation between India and the US. Of course, the kind of growth that the Indian bourgeoisie is keen on promoting, even at the risk of disagreement with the US, has nothing to do with the needs of the working people of this country, but is concerned solely with ensuring its own growth and boosting its own profits.

Although not officially on the agenda, it is clear that Clinton came also with the purpose of ensuring the Indian government’s cooperation with the Obama administration’s agenda for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Just before her visit, the Manmohan Singh government climbed down from its position of refusing to talk to Pakistan by taking part in a meeting with the Pakistan Prime Minister Gilani at Sharm al shaikh in Egypt and signing a joint statement with the Pakistan government.  The question that must be asked is, why did the Indian government wait till the eve of the Clinton visit to agree to restart talks with Pakistan? It is clear that both the Indian and Pakistani governments are increasingly giving the role of ‘honest broker’ in their relations to the United States, instead of firmly keeping in their own hands the initiative to build good relations and settle mutual problems. This is a dangerous development, because the US imperialist agenda for this region is destructive and self-serving, and against the interests of the peoples of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Whether under Obama, Bush or Bill Clinton before him, the increasing ties that US imperialism has been building with India is not good for this country or its people. Various pundits argue that building relations with the US, the sole superpower, is today necessary for India to grow as a big power.  But the agenda of becoming a global power is being pursued by the ruling Indian bourgeoisie on the back of the severe exploitation of the Indian people and at the cost of peace and harmonious relations with the countries of our region. The Indian working class and people cannot buy the logic that the growing ties with US imperialism is something good.