What a Kamala Harris presidency would mean for India-US ties

The flux in the American politics after President Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance against his predecessor and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on June 28 reached pinnacle on July 13 when Trump survived an assassination attempt. A turbocharged Republican campaign appeared all too belligerent against an ageing Joe Biden, and just then over a week later on July 21, the serving US president announced his withdrawal from the race to the White House.

Hours later,Kamala Harris, a smiling vice president who once served as aprosecutor-general, emerged as the face of Democrats against Donald Trump.

The India-US ties, at least since the time when the two countries shed off the nuclear sanction baggage during Bill Clinton's presidency in the early 2000s, have largely been bipartisan. Whether it's a Democrat or Republican in the White House, the Washington-Delhi ties have been marked with a larger pattern of consistent elevation to strategic relevance.

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In the last few months, the ties between the two countries suffered after allegations were levelled at India for an assassination plot against Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US.

As India-US ties continue to face the yesteryear's challenges underscored by Washington's consistent lecturing on New Delhi's purported record of democratic freedoms especiallysince the penultimate year of Biden presidency, let's take a look at what a potential Kamala Harris presidency might look like for India-US ties.

On Jammu and Kashmir

Harris has had strong views of the state of Jammu and Kashmir but has fallen short of holding a defining position on the same.

When India abrogated article 370 of constitution that gave the region a semi-autonomous status, Harris said that the US must "remind the Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world. We are keeping a track on the situation. There is a need to intervene if the situation demands."

On India-US ties

Harris has described the India-US relationship as "unbreakable".

In 2017, she tweeted a welcome message for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he visited the United States, "I welcome Indian PM @NarendraModi to the United States and reaffirm the unbreakable bonds between our two nations."

India has some inkling of what to expect from a potential Kamala Harris administration, since she is already the serving vice president. It is unlikely that her policies will differ greatly from Biden's.

But regardless of exact policies towards India, the presence of an Indian-American at the highest echelon of American politics would enhance people-to-people links between the two countries.

On immigration

Harris has served as a lead co-sponsor for legislation to increase the number of green cards that could go to countries like India and China. It ultimately did not pass but the proposed legislation ended up underscoring Harris as an important figure for immigrants seeking permanent residency in the United States.