Joe Biden triumphed over President Donald Trump to become the 46th President-elect of America, an election result that kept the entire world guessing for over two days. In Tamil Nadu, it was early Diwali as celebrations marked the victory of Indian-origin Kamala Harris, paving the way for her to be the first female Asian-American vice-president. While a flood of messages greeted the winners, including one from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India awaits with cautious optimism as the new leaders take guard.
Biden spoke on unifying America with a promise of a better tomorrow, and an assurance to "restore the soul of America". He took pride in this victory which saw an unprecedented voter turnout. Biden words exuded calm confidence and charisma without any lavish self-praise. His election could signal immediate good news for India. He plans to increase the number of high-skilled visas, including H-1B and relax the ceiling on employment-based visas. Both these moves will benefit lakhs of Indian professionals, including Goans, who have been hit hard by the immigration policies of the Trump regime. A new visa category is expected to be put in place to allow countries to petition higher levels of immigrants.
Kamala Harris' path-breaking victory gives India another reason to cheer, and her first speech would inspire millions of women across the world. Kamala hailed Biden's character saying he had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exist in the country and select a woman as his vice-president. "Dream with ambition and lead with conviction and see yourself in a way that others may not, simply because they've never seen it before", she thundered. Kamala's historic success is a shining example to India, which is still struggling with women empowerment.
All eyes will now be on whether the Biden-Kamala team will set a new template for Indo-US ties. While relations with India could be further strengthened, much is to be seen on how the US positions itself with China and Pakistan, especially at a time when there are simmering border tensions in the background. Biden has always been a proponent of stronger defence ties with India even during the Barack Obama rule, a tenure during which the US named India as "major defence partner".
However, a significant concern for India would be on US posturing on human rights issues, mainly because both Biden and Kamala have been fierce advocates of the subject. While Trump administration almost endorsed Modi-government's decisions on revoking of Article 370 and the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, Biden's approach to these issues could be in sharp contrast. Biden had expressed disappointment on these issues even in his campaign's policy paper.
Can Kamala help in building bridges of trust and strengthen friendships between India and the US? And, will Biden leave a new imprint on ties between the countries, like every other predecessor of his has done so far. Time will tell.
