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    OPINION                                                           SEPTEMBER 11, 2026       |  The Indian Eye 12

              The Connection Between World’s

              Oldest And Largest Democracies

                             250 Years of US-India Trade, Culture, and Shared Aspiration

                                                                                                                  non-violent resistance was ‘the most
                                                                                                                  potent weapon available to oppressed
                                                                                                                  people in their struggle for freedom.’
                                                                                                                  The ethical alliance between Gand-
                                                                                                                  hi’s Indian independence movement
                                                                                                                  and  King’s Civil Rights  Movement
                                                                                                                  demonstrated ho w spiritual and phil-
                                                                                                                  osophical solidarity across continents
                                                                                                                  could dismantle entrenched injustice
                                                                                                                  and redefine democratic society.
                       H S PANASER
                                                                                                                    2. Strategic Technological & Industrial
                                                                                                                             Convergence
                  s the United States of Ameri-                                                                   2.1 The IT Revolution & Artificial Intelli-
                  ca celebrates its Semiquincen-
            Atennial—marking  250  years                                                                          gence (AI) Frontier
                                                                                                                      The modern economic narrative
            since the signing of the Declaration                                                                  between the US and India underwent
            of Independence in 1776—global       EAM S Jaishankar at the unveiling of the book ‘We The People -- 250 voices that shaped   a seismic shift in the late 20th centu-
            attention naturally turns toward the                        Relationship’ (ANI)                       ry with the dawn of the Information
            international partnerships that have                                                                  Technology era. Indian IT services
            shaped the democratic modern era.   ry. Shortly after the American Rev-  Thoreau, and Walt Whitman—found   pioneers—such as Tata Consultancy
            Chief among these is the relation-  olutionary  War  concluded,  intrepid   deep inspiration in translated Indian   Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, and
            ship between the United States, the   American merchant vessels set sail   classical texts, including the Bhagavad   HCL—became indispensable engi-
            world’s oldest continuous consti-  from ports such as Salem and Boston,   Gita, the Upanishads, and the Vedas.  neering partners for corporate Amer-
            tutional democracy, and India, the   Massachusetts, charting courses to-  Emerson’s essays on spiritual   ica during the Y2K transition and the
            world’s largest vibrant democracy.  ward Kolkata (Calcutta) and Chennai   unity  and  Thoreau’s  treatise  on  civ-  subsequent global digital expansion.
                While  official  diplomatic  chan-
                                                                                                                      Today, this interaction has evolved
            nels were formally established upon   (Madras). Known collectively as the   il disobedience were deeply infused   far beyond traditional IT delivery and
                                              ‘Salem Traders’, these early pioneers
                                                                                with Vedantic philosophy. Thoreau’s
            India’s independence in 1947, the   laid the initial commercial bridges be-  famous experiment at Walden Pond   software maintenance into joint fron-
            foundational bedrock of US-India ties   tween the new American republic and   reflected a contemplative ideal draw-  tier-tech innovation. Under high-level
            extends  back  across  the  entire  250-  the Indian subcontinent.  ing directly  from  Indian  ascetic  wis-  policy frameworks such as the U.S.-In-
            year arc of American history. What    American  markets  developed   dom. In 1893, this philosophical dia-  dia initiative on Critical and Emerg-
            originated in the late 18th century as   an insatiable appetite for high-qual-  logue reached a watershed moment   ing Technology (iCET), both nations
            brave maritime trade involving New   ity Indian textiles, indigo, cash crops,   when  Swami  Vivekananda  delivered   collaborate  closely  on  Artificial  In-
            England  ice,  spices,  and  fine  textiles   and spices. In return, American en-  his historic address at the Parliament   telligence (AI), quantum computing,
            has continuously transformed. Today,   trepreneurs forged unique trade   of the World’s Religions in Chicago.   semiconductor fabrication, and cloud
            it stands as an indispensable strate-  ventures. Most notable was Frederic   His message of universal tolerance,   architecture. Silicon Valley’s leader-
            gic, economic, and cultural alliance   Tudor, known as the ‘Ice King’, who   spiritual harmony, and human dignity   ship landscape—exemplified by Indi-
            encompassing  Artificial  Intelligence   in the 1830s engineered a global lo-  captivated the American public, creat-  an-origin chief executives leading tech
            (AI), Information Technology (IT),   gistics miracle by harvesting natural   ing a permanent sanctuary for Indian   giants like Satya Nadella (Microsoft),
            Pharmaceutical supply chains, STEM   ice blocks from frozen New England   philosophical and spiritual thought   Sundar Pichai (Alphabet), and Arvind
            research, advanced medicine, and a   lakes, insulating them in sawdust, and   within the American consciousness.  Krishna (IBM)—embodies  the  deep
            multi-tiered exchange across Holly-  shipping them across two oceans to   1.3 The Ethic of Non-Violence: Gandhi   integration of Indian intellect and
            wood, Bollywood, classical dance, and   tropical  Indian ports. The arrival of   and the US Civil Rights Movement  American capital.
            universal spiritual traditions. Driven   American  ice  in  Kolkata  and  Mum-  In the 20th century, the cultural   2.2 Life Sciences, Medicine & Global
            by the energy of over 5 million Indi-  bai transformed medical care, food   and moral exchange between India   Health Security
            an-Americans and a dynamic Gen Z   preservation, and daily life in colonial   and the United States produced one   The healthcare partnership be-
            cohort, the US-India partnership rep-  India, establishing early proofs of bi-  of the most powerful political transfor-  tween the United States and India
            resents the defining democratic nexus   lateral economic ingenuity.  mations in human history. Dr. Martin   represents a vital pillar of global pub-
            of the 21st century.
                                              1.2 Philosophical Concordance:  Tran-  Luther King Jr., while searching for an   lic health and biosecurity. India’s sta-
             1. Historical Foundations: Pre-1947 Trade   scendentalism & Universal Thought  effective method to combat racial seg-  tus  as  the  ‘Pharmacy  of  the  World’
                  & Philosophical Exchanges       Beyond physical trade goods, the   regation in America, immersed himself   directly underpins the stability of the
            1.1 Early Maritime Commerce: Ice, Spic-  mid-19th century witnessed a pro-  in the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi   US healthcare system, providing over
            es, and Salem Traders             found  intellectual  transmission  from   and the philosophy of Ahimsa (non-vi-  40% of all generic pharmaceuticals
                The history of US-India commer-  East to West. American Transcenden-  olence) and Satyagraha (truth-force).  consumed in the United States.
            cial interaction pre-dates the modern   talist intellectuals—most prominently   Dr. King’s pilgrimage to India   This relationship extends into
            diplomatic era by more than a centu-  Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David   in  1959  solidified  his  conviction  that   Continued on next page... >>

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