A Year Of 'Modification' In India-U.S. Ties

Washington: India-U.S relations are poised for a takeoff after an eventful year and a historic election that transformed India's new leader Narendra Modi from a U.S. pariah to a partner ready to "chalein saath saath".

Modi hobnobbing with Russian President Vladimir Putin and doing "business as usual" with Moscow, signing deals including one for 12 Russia-built nuclear units when the landmark India-U.S. nuclear deal still remains stalled, made the U.S. unhappy.

The American media too raised questions about how India could be "BFF" with both the U.S. and Russia, but President Barack Obama was unwilling to spoil the party with an "important partner" and stuck to his plans to make a "historic" visit to India as guest of honour on its Republic Day and build on Modi's "hugely successful" U.S. visit in September.

At the turn of the year, in the midst of a major diplomatic row over the arrest and alleged strip search of an Indian diplomat in New York, U.S. diplomats were still tying themselves in knots over how to deal with an ascendant BJP's prime ministerial candidate.

It was only in mid-February long after all its Western allies had read the writing on the wall that U.S. Ambassador Nancy Powell chose to travel to Ahmedabad to meet the man whom the U.S. had denied a visa for nearly a decade over his alleged inaction during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

But it would be another month and a half that, slowly shifting from 'no change in visa policy' to 'Modi is welcome to apply', the US would declare that it was ready to do business with and welcome whoever may be India's new prime minister.

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