Bush in India: Analysis

So the New York Times says that focus of Bush's India trip is to try and contain India's nuclear development. But not contain it to the point where India falls behind China. They also say that this is a bad thing. I think I agree with them. To keep up good relations with India to counterbalance the so-called Chinese presence, is short-sighted. It would be more prudent to strengthen and solidify the growing economic ties, rather than focus on the nuclear technology. Also, if India is indeed the next economic powerhouse as the hype says (although I'm skeptical - only time will tell) then this is only another reason to strengthen those ties. I also think that the hulabaloo over the nuclear tests of 1998 is a little overdone. But that's a different story for a different day...

The San Jose Mercury News agrees with the NYT that the nuclear technology discussion should not be the focus of the trip. But they also talk about something else that's interesting: Goverdhan Mehta's US visa denial. He is a top Indian chemist, science advisor to the PM and hold a bunch of other accolades. Apparently, the consular officer "submitted him to intense scrutiny, accused him of hiding things and being dishonest, and denied his visa pending further review." The SJMN says that Bush should use this opportunity to "apologize for what happened to Mehta. And he should vow to fix once and for all the visa application process to show that America remains open and welcoming to its friends in India and around the world." Nice.

The Washington Post , on the other hand, decided to talk about India's ties with Burma - "one of Asia's two (with North Korea) most brutal dictatorships." Not sure if Burma is really a hot-button issue these days...

In other news, Arundhati Roy, in all her left-winged-ness, found it prudent to point out the irony of Bush speaking from Purana Qila in Delhi. This happened, incidentally, because apparently too many MPs said they would heckle him if he spoke in Parliament.

Surprisingly, not many of the other newspapers/opinion mags have much to say about Bush's India trip. It's true it doesn't start until tomorrow, so perhaps there'll be more to think about then...