Violence Threatens to Strain US - India Relations

A lot of people in the country of India celebrated as the November election results were announced.

Five Indian Americans were voted into the United States Congress, which is the highest number in the country’s history.

In January, the current president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, informed the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, that the country of India was a real partner and associate of the United States. But in the last two weeks, three killings aimed at foreigners on Indian descent in the United States have sent aftershocks all through the Indian-American society.

Now, the increasing anti-migration policies driven forward by the president is a source of concern for Indian nationals. It raises doubts about the connection between individual citizens of America and persons of Indian descent.

It also raises doubt about the relationship between the United States of America and India itself.

In the past years, the relationship between the United States and India has been cordial.

Following years of reciprocal suspiciousness during the cold war and a shaky partnership following India's testing of nuclear weapons in 1998, the United States and the country of India have forged a strong relationship. Unanimous decisions on matters ranging from security to power to business and trade deals have improved as both nations have openly accepted each other, as can be seen, most recently in a plethora of conventions and meetings between the former president of the United States, Barack Obama, and the prime minister of India Modi.

Nationals of the country of India and Indian Americans are an integral part of the American and comprise the second largest foreign group in the United States.

For some sections, this bilateral relationship between the U.S and India seems logical, as the United States and India are two of the world’s biggest democracies.

But current situations put the relationship between these two nations at risk of being severed. Since the attacks of Indians living in America in the past few weeks, the plea from the Indian circle and the Indian society has been deafening.

Many communities are afraid of sending their kids to the U.S to further their education. Some no longer feel like they are a part of the society anymore.

The huge retributions of this increasing fear could become widespread. Students from India, the second-biggest foreign student group in the United States, contribute around $3.6 billion to the economy of the United States.

A lot of universities rely on the payment of tuition fees by foreign students. They pay more than three times what citizens of the United States pay.