Khobragade row: Why prudence is key for India-US ties

The United States has asserted that it will not drop charges against the Indian diplomat, Devyani Khobragade and that the case is a law enforcement issue. The US, it would appear, is not backing down and is making the Khobragade case one of prestige and one reflecting the primacy of law over everything else issue. In reality, this does not appear to be the case. Other motives (insalubrious ones) appear to be the determining aspects and factors. It is the zeal of the Indian American attorney, Preet Bharara, the greed of the domestic help Sangeeta Richards and the immigration lawyer who helped Richards file a complaint that may explain the arrest and the attendant mistreatment of the Indian diplomat, Khobragade. In other words, the whole saga appears to be a perversion of the American Dream. [caption id=“attachment_1299679” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Devyani Khobragade. AP[/caption] Bharara, in an attempt to be more loyal than the king and probably aspire for a higher office in the United States has taken the scalp of Khobragade; Richards appears to have been titillated by a ‘better’ life for herself and her family has gone against Khobragade to get residence in the United States and the immigration lawyer probably gets side benefits in the form of some moolah. Higher motives as pronounced and proclaimed by Bharara do not appear to be a factor in the calculations of the parties responsible for indicting Khobragade. Of course, all this falls in the domain of speculation. However, prima facie, there appears to me merit to these speculations. The whole saga then is not about justice and the law but a perversion and twisting of the law. It also reflects the litigious nature of American society and the attendant lack of social capital — a phenomenon eloquently illustrated by Robert Putnam. While in theory, the law should protect the individual and his or her rights, in the contemporary United States, law is also used to extract rents from the state or individuals over frivolous charges or issues. While untangling the twisted knots in the Khobragade case would require forensic investigation of the case, the details that have emerged till now suggest that Khobragade has become a victim of this twisting and perversion of the law in the United States. Given that Khobragade was a diplomat, the United States should have exercised due diligence and prudence in the case. It, however, did not and chose to showcase both the force of law and its attendant impact on the victim. This comes at a time when world politics is undergoing some sort of a churn and new emerging powers like India are making their presence felt in the international system. The Khobragade case then is a diplomatic blunder and bungling. Now that the US is refusing to back down and is sticking to its stance, what choices and options does India have? Many is the answer. World politics and international relations are undergoing some sort of change: a nascent and putative multipolarity can be discerned along with a jockeying for influence and putative great power rivalry. India is, if not an emerging power in this new configuration but certainly a swing state with a great degree of influence over many issue areas. India can, if the United States continues to be truculent, either play a spoiler role or impart new dimensions to its traditional policy of non–aligment in a different permutation and combination. This can potentially frustrate American designs and goals in many issue areas and places like Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and perhaps more importantly towards China. This is the nature of leverage that India contemporarily has. Whilst it would be churlish to actually be a spoiler state and frustrate American goals, the ability and India’s potential to do so, should be made clear to Americans quietly — away from the glare of the media. This may then concentrate American minds and make them consider a sober way out of the Khobragade case. The Khobragade case and its resolution can become a bellwether case and metaphor for Indo-US relations in the 21st century. Ideally, it should be resolved in a prudent and sagacious manner which restores the dignity and status of Khobragade. The case should not be one which affects the tone and tenor of relations between a superpower and an emerging power. Too much is at stake here. Prudence then demands resolution of the issue with due regard to Khobragade’s honour. If, however, an impasse continues to define the case and issue and the US chooses to be truculent, India must then relay the options it has to the United States, in the emerging and evolving world order.