| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Befitting two raucous democracies, once estranged but increasingly fraternal, the U.S.-India relationship routinely evokes grandiloquence about "natural allies," "an affair of the heart," "kindred spirits," "common DNA" and a defining partnership" shaping the destiny of the 21st century. Such sentiments were on full display in late 2009 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the White House as President Baraek Obama's first official state guest. In the run-up to the event, Obama declared that Mahatma Gandhi "was a real hero of mine" and let it be known that he considered Singh and India part of his family. The extravagant state dinner staged on the South Lawn was the hottest ticket in town, attracting party crashers to boot, and even the rainy weather did not dim an event the Washington Post likened to a Hollywood production. And with expectations raised by the recently-codified U.S.-India nuclear cooperation agreement, the two leaders spoke augustly about a "future that beckons all of us."'
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