OC DEFENCE PURCHASES: THE BJP’S BIHAR LUXURY SPECIAL: MIRED IN RED TAPE GAME PLAN FESTIVE TRENDS www.indiatoday.in NOVEMBER 16, 2020 `75 REGISTERED NO. DL(ND)-11/6068/2018-20;REGISTERED NO. U(C)-88/2018-20; FARIDABAD/05/2020-22 LICENSED POSTWITHOUTTO PREPAYMENT RNI NO. 28587/75 28587/75 NO. RNI HARD ROAD AHEAD WHAT THE JOE BIDen-Kamala HARRIS WIN MEANS FOR AMERICA, INDIA AND THE WORLD FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF he recent US presidential election had several very fact that this contest went down to the wire indicates that binaries: Good vs Evil, Decency vs Indecency, Trumpism is alive and kicking in America. This does not bode Truth vs Lies, Racism vs Inclusion, Rich vs Poor, well for the country’s future. These are serious divides that will T Unity vs Division, Reason vs Irrationality, Con- hamper the ability of the Biden administration to govern. sensus vs Confrontation, Science vs Stupidity, Globalisation vs Isolationism. Fortunately for America and the world, the ur cover story, ‘Hard Road Ahead’, written by Group better side of human nature prevailed. Just about. I must say O Editorial Director (Publishing) Raj Chengappa, looks I was shocked at the byzantine American electoral process. at what the Biden-Harris partnership means for India and Completely absurd that a president can be elected even after the world. The six experts we consulted are upbeat about the losing the popular vote—as Donald Trump did in 2016— future. Former NSA Shivshankar Menon believes Biden’s pri- and the chaotic counting process. We may not orities will be domestic issues and not foreign always get everything right, but we should feel policy. “He is going to have to try hard to bring proud of the efficient way our general elections jobs back, get manufacturing going and push are conducted, and the results announced. The for economic growth.” victory of Joe Biden in a closely fought US presi- The high point of Indo-US ties under the dential election is as much about the triumph Trump administration had been in the fields of democracy as it is about the defeat of one of of defence and security. The two countries are the most toxic presidents in US history, one who now locked in a Comprehensive Global Strategic even tried to delegitimise the election. The 2020 Partnership, have signed three major founda- vote, as Biden put it succinctly at the start of his tional defence agreements and have arms deals campaign, was to restore the ‘soul of America’ worth billions of dollars in the pipeline. March 13, 2017 and erase the ‘darkness’ that had descended on Bilateral trade remains a thorny issue, the country under Donald Trump. though. Trump took India off a preferential The president, despite all his bluster, was trade scheme offering Indian exporters tariff- already under a darkening cloud this year. free access to US markets. Biden is unlikely to Covid-19 has ravaged the United States, with significantly steer away from his predecessor’s 9.5 million cases and 234,000 fatalities as ‘America First’ policy of focusing on the US of November 5, making it the world’s worst- markets and economic recovery. This could affected country. Trump was slow to move cause India some anxiety as the US is bound to against the pandemic and, by some accounts, emphasise access to India’s markets. even downplayed it initially. The impact of the The free pass that Trump gave India on virus on the US economy has been catastroph- human rights and on Kashmir could also ic—ending the longest recorded US expansion July 8, 2019 become a point of friction in the months ahead, from 2009 to March 2020. particularly with vice-president Kamala Har- The former real estate tycoon from New ris. Harris, the first person of Indian origin to York now joins a short list of just two other become vice-president, spoke up in the Senate American presidents in the last half-century— in October 2019 in the context of the Indian Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush—who government diluting Article 370, saying that were defeated after a single term. They lost “we have to remind the Kashmiris that they are mainly because, as the memorable 1992 not alone in the world” and “there is a need to Bill Clinton campaign slogan put it, ‘It’s the intervene if the situation demands”. economy, stupid!’ In Trump’s case, it would be, It remains to be seen what path Biden walks ‘It was Covid-19, stupid!’ with China—whether he will choose to strike a Trump’s troubled legacy will endure long March 9, 2020 deal or continue his predecessor’s hostile policy. after he leaves the White House for various In any case, there are unlikely to be any huge reasons. He moved the United States away from its lead- surprises. However, in dealing with any American president, ership role in the world, shredded alliances and had the we should always remember what John Foster Dulles, the singular distinction of being a mercurial, unpredictable US eminent Secretary of State during the Eisenhower presidency, president, feared by friends and foes alike. The task before had said: “America has no friends, only interests.” That said, President Biden, who at 77 is the oldest president-elect ever, Biden marks a return to a predictable and, hopefully, a more is formidable, both at home and abroad. He has the arduous responsible United States. responsibility not just of restoring America’s leadership role in global affairs and rebuilding alliances but also of integrat- ing the ‘untied’ states of America, restoring racial harmony and fighting a likely second wave of Covid infections. The (Aroon Purie) NOVEMBER 16, 2020 INDIA TODAY 3 UPFRONT LEISURE COVID: TOO CLOSE THE ART OF BEING FOR COMFORT PG 6 GANDHI PG 49 www.indiatoday.in DISINVESTMENT: THE Q&A WITH INTERMINABLE LOOP RAJKUMMAR RAO CHAIRMAN AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie VICE CHAIRPERSON: Kalli Purie PG 14 PG 56 GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa INSIDE GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das; GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh MANAGING EDITORS: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha EXECUTIVE EDITORS: S. Sahaya Ranjit, Sandeep Unnithan, Manisha Saroop; Mumbai: M.G. Arun SENIOR DEPUTY EDITOR: Hyderabad: Amarnath K. Menon DEPUTY EDITORS: Kaushik Deka, Shwweta Punj SENIOR EDITORS: Sasi Nair, Anilesh S. 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