India's Relationship with the U.S.
05:37 Share

This message comes from NPR sponsor Rosetta Stone, an expert in language learning for 30 years. Right now, NPR listeners can get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership to 25 different languages for 50% off. Learn more at rosettastone.com slash NPR. Today on State of the World, India's relationship with the United States.

You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. I'm Greg Dixon. India thought it had a cozy relationship with the United States. Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls President Trump his friend.

But like many other countries, India has been dealt some blows by the U.S. Earlier this year, 26% tariffs were announced. They're currently suspended. Then the Trump administration deported dozens of Indian migrants who were in the U.S. without legal status. They were sent back to India in shackles and chains, causing a political outcry. NPR's Dia Hadid takes us to western India to hear how people there feel about the U.S. now.

A man gives his passport to a Hindu priest in a visa temple in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. The priest prays to the monkey god Hanuman for this man's visa application to America to be accepted. There are many visa temples across India and some prayers must be answered. Indians form America's second largest migrant group after Mexico, numbering some five million people.

There's also Indian migrants in the US without legal status. Their numbers range from 200,000 people to three quarters of a million. Many snuck through America's borders, like Mari Ben's daughter. We met Mari Ben on an Ahmedabad roadside. She sells clay pots for 40 cents profit apiece.

Her daughter had bigger dreams. Her daughter and her husband sold their land, borrowed cash and paid traffickers to sneak them into America with their two children. Marivan doesn't give her last name. She fears she'll accidentally identify her daughter and risk her deportation.

And deportations are what President Trump promised. We will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. Just days after his inauguration... We are now getting some breaking news on the broadcast. Dozens of Indian nationals were deported in three military flights. Men were shackled and chained in footage shared by Border Patrol set to ominous music.

That shocked many Indians because the Prime Minister Narendra Modi boasts of his friendship with Trump. His political rivals goaded him. Opposition MPs protested outside the parliament with some even wearing chains. The government said it had raised concerns with the US about deportees being shackled and officials say thousands of Indian nationals have been deported in the past 15 years.

But Modi himself has not commented publicly on how this latest batch of deportees were treated. And India's pro-government media suggested these people deserved what they got, like broadcaster Arnab Goswami. How do you want...

criminals to be treated. Perhaps, he mocked, these people must be brought back first class with a glass of champagne in their hand. Analysts say Modi's silence is a political survival strategy. Rajesh Rajagopalan is professor of international politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University. It's easier to hide rather than seek confrontation with the Trump administration. He

He says a spat with Trump might end badly. We don't want to be targeted either. I mean, we don't want to be another Canada. We don't want to be Canada. Analysts say India has bigger problems, like finalising a trade deal they hope will eliminate tariffs that Trump has promised to slap on most Indian goods. But as Modi steers India through this Trump administration, this political headache may keep erupting because Indians may keep trying to reach America.

Many of them come from Gujarat, the Prime Minister's home state, like Dinguacha Village. During a recent visit, cows ambled by as kids whacked a ball in the main square. Many Dinguacha residents live in the US and evidence of their prosperity is everywhere. Just about every building has been donated by Indians who live abroad. The Hindu temple, the water tanker.

and the municipal building. Inside, Administrator Jayash Chaudhary says it's Indian-Americans who've developed in Gurcara, and that signals to folks here that fortunes are made in America. Just from this village, one family, parents and their two children froze to death three years ago as they crossed into the US from Canada during a blizzard.

Relatives of that family were recently deported on a Trump administration military flight. Chaudhry says if there's a 1% chance of success, people will keep trying. Try and try will be success. And success is reaching America. Diya Hadid, NPR News, Dhingucha. That's the state of the world from NPR. Thanks for listening.

Young men in America are shifting to the right, young women to the left, but that divide goes far beyond politics. I'm Charity Nebbe on the new season of the podcast Unsettled. We'll mine the gender gap in romance, education, health, and safety. Unsettled, a podcast from Iowa Public Radio, part of the NPR Network.

This message comes from LPL Financial. What if you could have more control over your future? LPL Financial removes the things holding you back and provides the services to push you forward. Because when it comes to your finances, your business, your future, LPL Financial believes the only question should be, what if you could? LPL Financial, member FINRA SIPC, no strategy assures success or protects against loss. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Support for this podcast and the following message come from E-Trade from Morgan Stanley. With E-Trade, you can dive into the market with easy-to-use tools, zero-dollar commissions, and a wide range of investments. And now there's even more to love. Get access to industry-leading research and insights from Morgan Stanley to help guide your decisions. Open an account and get up to $1,000 or more with a qualifying deposit.

Get started today at E-Trade.com. Terms and other fees apply. Investing involves risks. Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney, LLC. Member SIPC. E-Trade is a business of Morgan Stanley.