Friday, June 13, 2008
Indians for America
Whatever might have happened to America's "popularity" around the world during the presidency of George W. Bush, it has risen among the 1.1 billion people of India:
The popularity of the United States in India has shot up dramatically since 2002, in a period in which Uncle Sam's image took a beating globally, a survey has said.
America turned out to be the most popular in India, with its ratings rising up to 71 per cent, up from 54 per cent in the summer of 2002, in the survey conducted by an independent body - the Pew Research Centre - over 16 nations to assess favourabilty ratings of five major countries.
Besides, India is the only country outside the US where a majority of people sounded soft on President George W Bush, who fared poorly in the popularity contest, trailing behind even the former British PM Tony Blair.
Fifty four per cent of the people surveyed in India expressed confidence in the leadership of the President as against 17 per cent in Turkey and 24 per cent in Lebanon.
If it is people who count, the gains are impressive. If 71% of Indians indeed have a favorable view of the United States, that is around 780 million people, which is 300 million more people than the entire population of the European Union.
What might account for this gain, corresponding as it does to a period in which we have fallen over ourselves to support Pakistan, India's greatest geopolitical rival? Perhaps it is that India is a front-line state in the war on Islamic jihad and it appreciates the Bush administration's "forward" strategy in that conflict.
4 Comments:
By 
Dawnfire82, at
Fri Jun 13, 07:07:00 PM:
I suspect that the recognition of India as a 'responsible nuclear power' probably contributed as well.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Fri Jun 13, 09:11:00 PM:
The popularity doesn't necessarily translate into support for American foreign policy. As you undoubtedly know from your worldwide travels, TH, people in fast-developing countries usually think about money more often than they think about international politics.
By 
, at
Sat Jun 14, 03:44:00 PM:
Who cares about India? They are not part of the "international community."
By , at
Sat Jun 14, 04:29:00 PM:
Lots of things happened.
George Bush's visit to India, the increasingly robust presence of an Indian diaspora within the US (when you hear business or other young leaders in India, their English is American accented, rather than British accented, owing to schooling in the US), greater economic ties, the offer from the US of a civilian nuclear deal - these are the things that are bringing the two nations together. I actually think our foreign policy related to the War on Terror is not that popular in India, but, I also think many Indians feel that it is really not their affair and doesn't affect the country. They want to grow economically. That's the main goal.
My two cents as an Indian immigrant in the US.
