Introduction
India and the United States are widely recognised as the world’s largest and the most powerful democracies respectively. The relationship between these two countries is thus one of the most fascinating interactions witnessed in the relations among nations. The added significant features are marked by the fact that India is one of the oldest civilisations in the world, whereas the United States is relatively a younger civilisation. However, in terms of statehood experience, it is the US, which is considerably older than India. When India took birth as a newly independent country in 1947, the US was already more than a century and a half old. And by the time of Indian independence, it had emerged as a global superpower. Factors related to civilisation, statehood and governance thus made the relations between India and the US as one of the most complex bilateral relations in world history. Soon after independence, India chose not to join any of the two power blocs, and adopted the policy of non-alignment.
Introduction
India and the United States are widely recognised as the world’s largest and the most powerful democracies respectively. The relationship between these two countries is thus one of the most fascinating interactions witnessed in the relations among nations. The added significant features are marked by the fact that India is one of the oldest civilisations in the world, whereas the United States is relatively a younger civilisation. However, in terms of statehood experience, it is the US, which is considerably older than India. When India took birth as a newly independent country in 1947, the US was already more than a century and a half old. And by the time of Indian independence, it had emerged as a global superpower. Factors related to civilisation, statehood and governance thus made the relations between India and the US as one of the most complex bilateral relations in world history. Soon after independence, India chose not to join any of the two power blocs, and adopted the policy of non-alignment.
