The first American president to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations was greeted by an array of Russian weaponry on Monday as the lengthy martial parade underscored how far the US has to go in its efforts to become Delhi’s preferred new military partner.
Just one day after agreeing an ambitious defence co-operation agreement with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, Barack Obama arrived in the pouring rain as a fly-by of Russian-made Mil helicopters heralded a two-hour procession led by cold war-era tanks and armoured personnel carriers.
White House officials insisted the president was not offended by the overt reminder of India’s historic alliance with the Soviet Union and said the president’s trip to Delhi was a crucial part its security rebalancing towards Asia.
“The US is quickly moving toward surpassing Russia as a defence exporter to India,” the deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, told reporters. “The balance has shifted over years and our relationship is on the upswing even though we understand there is a legacy relationship. That cold war relationship has been a source of mistrust but we are moving beyond that.”
Parade announcers made sure to stress the pedigree of the only US equipment on display – a C-17 and three C-130 transport planes. Many of the floats and equipment on show were also of domestic origin: from representatives of India’s booming space programme, through to a military band riding on camels.
American officials also denied it was inappropriate for Obama, a Nobel peace prize recipient, to be endorsing such a overt display of military muscle in a region known for growing security tensions.
“Lots of countries have military parades but what the president is comfortable with is this is a democracy,” said Rhodes.
Nonetheless, Obama’s attempt to cement close military links with Modi has not gone unnoticed in China, where state media on Monday sought to play down its significance.
“It’s noticeable that they should feel they have to go out of their way to comment on this visit,” added Rhodes. “No one is looking to confront or contain China, but the US and India are committed to a rules-based system, so, for example, if there are maritime disputes we want them resolved peacefully in line with the law.”
The US is seeking to distinguish India from Russia and China by stressing its history as a democracy with similar values – something Obama’s presence at the Republic Day celebration was designed to underline.
Though Indian and international media focused on Obama’s presence, the primary audience was a domestic one. Tens of thousands braved weather that, by Delhi standards, was unseasonably cold. Streets were empty in much of the capital.
The Republic Day parade celebrates the introduction in 1950 of the country’s own constitution and thus its full independence from Britain. Its theme this year was described by officials as “women’s empowerment”. India has been hit by a surge of violence towards women in recent years, including several high-profile sexual assaults. Selective abortion according to gender is a major issue and women face widespread discrimination.
“The parade was awesome as always but the lady soldiers were really good, and the jet planes at the end too. We are showing Mr Obama our culture and traditions,” said Shubhangi Tyagi, a 19-year-old student at Delhi University.
However, experts said the unprecedented role played by women in the parade may have been more symbolic than substantive.
“There’s been no move so far towards allowing women to hold permanent commissions [as officers] nor allow them into combat arms such as infantry or the armoured corps,” said Ajai Shukla, a former army officer and defence analyst.
Also noticeable was the absence of intercontinental ballistic missiles, given pride of place in many previous parades.
“Whether the idea was to make the parade less militarised and focus more attention on floats with dancers and so on, or whether it was to cater to US sensibilities is unclear,” said Shukla.
Before the parade, gallantry medals were awarded posthumously to two soldiers killed last year in clashes with Islamist separatists in the Himalayan former princedom of Kashmir, disputed for more than six decades years by India and Pakistan.
After the tanks, weapons and marching contingents, with female officers in the foreground for the first time, came the carnivalesque floats representing Indian states and key government projects. These included elements bearing the stamp of Modi’s own vision.
A float from the 64-year-old’s home state of Gujarat, where he was chief minister between 2002 and 2014, showcased a project to raise a gigantic statue of Vallabhbhai Patel, the statesman who unified India’s patchwork of territories following independence from Britain.
Gujarat-born Patel is revered by many Indian nationalists, who often contrast him with Jawaharlal Nehru, the independence leader who is an icon of the centre-left Congress party, which has held power for most of the country’s history but is now in opposition.
“Patel is seen [by rightwingers] as a hard-headed realist, rather than the woolly-headed idealist Nehru. He was also disowned by Congress,” said Ramachandra Guha, one of India’s foremost political historians.
The 29,890m-rupee (£315m) statue will stand 182 metres tall, twice the height of the Statue of Liberty, and has been criticised by environmentalists.
Next came a float bearing a mechanised lion against “a background of a smart city”, according to the announcer. A screen on the float displaying the words “components, aviation, biotechnology” made it clear that this represented Modi’s vision of a powerful Indian economy based on manufacturing. Though picking up steadily, growth rates in the emerging power remain well below the previous peak of 9%, at about 5% for this year.
Then came a float showcasing a new ministry created to promote traditional India medicine and yoga. Other floats included one promoting the prime minister’s “Save your daughters, educate your daughters” campaign. Some time later came a high-speed bullet train, a pet project of Modi who hopes to modernise India’s creaking, over-crowded railway network.
Ashok Sinha, a 57-year-old teacher from west Bengal, was among tens of thousands of spectators. “It is the best time in India ever. Big powers are respecting us and we are respecting them,” Sinha said.
Though diplomats and commentators referred repeatedly to India and the US as natural allies, relations have never been straightforward between the world’s biggest democracies.
During the cold war, India tilted towards Moscow and the US towards Pakistan. More recently, the US placed India under sanctions following a nuclear test in 1998. Modi himself was denied a visa to the US under a law barring entry to foreigners who have committed “particularly severe violations of religious freedom”.
The decision followed accusations that the former rightwing organiser had stood by during, or even encouraged, sectarian violence in the western state of Gujarat in 2002, when he was chief minister. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed by rioters.
Modi has denied all wrongdoing and India’s supreme court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to back the charges against him.
The relationship reached a nadir when the Indian deputy consul-general in the US was arrested for visa fraud in New York in December 2013. The affair prompted a vitriolic reaction in India to what was seen as disrespectful bullying. This in turn prompted US commentators to accuse India of oversensitivity and behaviour unbecoming of an aspirant future power.
Modi won the first outright majority in Indian politics for 30 years in the poll last May after pledging to boost flagging growth in the emerging power where red tape, corruption, poor infrastructure and restrictive laws remain major challenges to business. He swiftly accepted an invitation from Obama to visit following his win.
Sahil Khatrapal, 25, had been tasked with ensuring the supply of gas to the flame of the martyr’s memorial during the wreath-laying ceremony before the parade.
“I was very proud to be a citizen of India. Right from the time the national anthem played at the start, to when it plays at the end,” he said.
