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Commentary
Wall Street Journal

The Delicate US Task of Courting India

The two very different democracies are only partially united by a common language.

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
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Caption
Narendra Modi delivers remarks to a joint meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on June 22, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong via Getty Images)

With India slated to pass Germany and Japan to become the  by the end of this decade, getting India right has become a critical task for American policy makers.

But a week of talks with political, religious and business leaders aligned with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has reminded me how difficult this relationship can be. The U.S. and India are both democracies. They are both eager to offset Chinese power in Asia without war. But the differences between the two societies are profound. It will take skill, patience and understanding to make the relationship work.