NEW DELHI -- U.S. President Bill Clinton's weeklong tour of South Asia has caused an outbreak of Clinton-mania in the region, generating bloated expectations. In the Indian cities on his itinerary, streets have been cleaned, signposts washed or repainted, and tree branches cut back. The Great White Messiah is finally here.
India's history since independence is one of missed opportunities. If India is to not miss further opportunities, especially in relation to the United States, it will have to understand certain harsh realities and get rid of false hopes and illusions. Clinton-mania is only the latest affliction, a telling reminder of why India gets paired not with a coldly pragmatic China, but with the much smaller and pushy Pakistan.
America's importance for India is self-evident. In a world in which most nations of consequence are in economic and military alliances, India stands out as the only major state without a real ally. Moreover, it faces in Asia a growing imbalance of power, at the center of which is an increasingly powerful and assertive China that successfully keeps India boxed in on the subcontinent and compels New Delhi to pay obeisance to it.