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Examining the Evolving Relationship Between the World’s Two Largest Democracies | EXCERPT

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18.01.2021

A Matter of Trust is an illuminating account of the India-US relationship that has far-reaching implications for the changing global political landscape. Meenakshi Ahamed expertly reveals the personal prejudices and insecurities of the leaders, and the political imperatives, that over the years, have so often cast a shadow over their relationship. Read an excerpt:

 

Johnson and Mrs Gandhi: When Politics Gets Personal

Mrs Gandhi inherited a poisoned chalice when she became the prime minister. India had concluded an uneasy truce with Pakistan. The US aid embargo had encouraged Pakistan to align with China. Between the two hostile countries, India was caught in a pincer grip that extended from east to west all along her northern front. It would remain a constant threat.

Internally, there seemed to be no relief from the economic crisis. The Indian economy was running on empty. Factories were operating below capacity and unemployment was rising. The distribution of foodgrains was inefficient, and productivity was low. The results of the agricultural reforms were slow to kick in and food stocks were at the mercy of Johnson’s ‘short tether’ policy. India was in a precarious state with its balance of payments due to increased imports of foodgrains, which it had to buy in the international market. The inflation rate was 12 per cent in 1965–66 and rising. Commodity prices were shooting up and everyone in the country seemed to be suffering.

Mrs Gandhi would have to make the trip to the US that Shastri had planned before he died. India desperately needed the food aid.

Mrs Gandhi arrived in Washington, DC at the end of March 1966. Calling it a goodwill tour, she confided to journalist Inder Malhotra that her main task was to obtain food and foreign exchange for India without appearing to ask for them.

The state banquet for Mrs Gandhi on 28 March 1966 was a success. She had stopped in Paris to have her hair done, dressed beautifully for the occasion and turned on her charm. The national security advisor, Robert Komer, dryly observed: ‘She set out to vamp LBJ and succeeded.’

The next day, B.K. Nehru hosted a dinner in Mrs Gandhi’s honour at the Indian embassy, which Johnson attended. Breaking protocol, Johnson surprised everyone by staying for dinner. He and Mrs Gandhi got on well. He was in an expansive mood and effusive in his praise for her, proclaiming that he would make sure that ‘no harm came to this girl’. He also promised 3 million tons of food and 9 million dollars in aid.

Mrs Gandhi understood she was living in a world dominated by men who were perpetually condescending towards women. When she took over Shastri’s position, older members of the Congress party, who had been against her nomination, mistook her reserve for shyness and called her ‘goongi gudiya’, or ‘dumb doll’. Johnson’s treatment of her, like a girl in need of his protection, may have grated but she was on a mission. Earlier, the Indian ambassador had asked her how she wanted to be addressed by the president. After some thought, she had imperiously said, ‘You can tell him my cabinet colleagues call me sir.’ The ambassador decided it was best not to convey the message.

Internal discussions within the US reveal that the US government officials wanted to make sure that the euphoria of the visit did not lull India into complacency by believing that the US would bail it out. Johnson made clear that their aid needed to be part of a consortium and, although the US would help spearhead the process, India needed to do some work to get food commitments from other countries. India also needed to continue to prove it was working towards self-sufficiency. India was expected to work with the World Bank on economic reforms to satisfy the US Congress that its aid dollars were being spent productively. Mrs Gandhi had to adhere to performance levels in return for the help.

***

On 6 June 1966, under pressure from the US and the World Bank, Mrs Gandhi devalued the Indian rupee by 37 per cent, from 4.76 to 7.50 against the US dollar. The war with China and the increased imports of food due to two consecutive droughts in 1965 and 1966 had contributed to the depletion of reserves. A second war in 1965 had put additional stress on the economy.

Until mid-1965, aid to India had been managed by the US embassy in Delhi, USAID and a small group of Indians from the government. Plentiful wheat reserves in the US made supplying India with foodgrains relatively routine. After Johnson became the president, this comfortable working arrangement changed.

Mrs Gandhi, who had suffered stinging political blowback from the devaluation episode, was disappointed when the aid that Johnson promised during her visit took its time in arriving. She had been accused by the Left of having sold out to the US with little to show for it. She felt she needed to assert her independence and prove that the US was not dictating terms to her. In July 1966, she visited Moscow and agreed to a joint communiqué critical of US policy in Vietnam. Johnson was predictably furious.

During Mrs Gandhi’s visit to the US, Johnson had indicated that he would help India as long as he saw progress in relations. He was grateful that the traditional anti-American rhetoric that emanated from India had disappeared and called India a ‘deserving friend’. He famously said: ‘Let it never be said bread should be so dear and flesh and blood so cheap that we turned in indifference from her bitter need.’

Mrs Gandhi’s negative comments about the US bombing campaign in Vietnam infuriated Johnson, who insisted on gratitude from recipients of US largesse. He soured on India and his recent goodwill vanished. An element of vindictiveness crept in in his dealings with India, especially where he knew it would hurt the most: food aid. He insisted that India’s feet be held to the fire in what came to be known as the ‘ship to mouth’ policy.

Johnson decided to monitor every single shipment of grain going to India. He delayed the movement of grain even when his own staff pleaded with him to order the shipment to prevent starvation.

At one point during the crisis, Mrs Gandhi had to call Johnson and beg for the food. Her press advisor, Sharada Prasad, recalled her clenching her fingers around the telephone during the conversation and, while she was friendly and charming on the phone, she was furious inside; when she hung up, she said, ‘I don’t ever want us ever to have to beg for food again!’

Johnson relented only when the US press, reporting on the famine, found out about Johnson’s ‘tough love’ policies and made him look heartless. Just before Christmas, Johnson finally released 900,000 tons of wheat.

Johnson may have done India a favour. India’s Green Revolution had begun, but it was accelerated under Johnson’s rough treatment. Mrs Gandhi was so incensed that she travelled the country with C. Subramaniam and various scientists to ensure that agricultural reform and food self-sufficiency became the country’s top priority, but she never forgave Johnson. Her antipathy towards the US became entrenched and, after Johnson, Nixon made it irredeemable.

 

To learn more about the evolving nature of Indo-US relations, order your copy A Matter of Trust today.

A Matter Of Trust
About the Book - A Matter Of Trust

FINALIST FOR THE 2022 ARTHUR ROSS AWARD'I thought India was pretty jammed with poor people and cows wandering around the streets, witch doctors and people sitting on hot coals and bathing in the Ganges, but I did not realize that…

About the Author - Meenakshi Ahamed

Meenakshi Ahamed is a freelance journalist and has written on American foreign policy for publications such as Foreign Policy, The Asian Age, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and Seminar. She was the London correspondent for NDTV from 1989-1996.…

To read more, order your copy of A Matter Of Trust, by Meenakshi Ahamed today!

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