Rise Of Donald Trump: Impact On Indo-American-Pak Relationship

Donald Trump is one of the likely candidates to become the President come November. He has courted one controversy after the other, and yet he remains one of the possible candidates. But how is this going to affect India and Indians?

Trump Towers in India

Trump is positively disposed towards India, and has once remarked on CNN that “India is doing great. Nobody talks about it.” Trump has gotten involved in real estate projects in Mumbai and Pune. A few months ago, he also signed a contract to build an office tower in Gurgaon. However, there is no money poured by Trump into these projects, to which his major contribution has been his name. The real estate projects in India are being developed under brand licensing deals. Donald Trump gives his name, and receives a lump sum amount and a percentage of the sales in return.
The Mumbai project had been stalled for a while due to approval issues, but that is nothing new in Mumbai, which saw a complete absence of approvals during the time. Eventually, Trump has partnered with the Lodha Group to take the project off the ground. However, the same cannot be said of the Pune project, which has been stalled and is being investigated by the Pune government and police authorities since a discrepancy has been found in the documents related to the project.

Trump and subcontinent disputes

It is expected that Trump’s involvement in real estate projects in India is likely to affect his policies in the subcontinent in case he becomes the US President. As a businessman first, and a politician second, it is expected that the prospects to American companies offered by the stable Indian economy might also attract Trump, who has been quite vocal about cutting down funds to Pakistan if he becomes the President.
One worry is that Trump could put pressure on the Indian government to expedite his projects, affecting the autonomy of the Indian authorities to make these decisions. On the other hand, it is possible that Trump could also take a hard line towards Pakistan in order to appease the nationalist Indian government at the centre. But it does not seem very likely that an American led by Trump would see any more peace in the subcontinent than under the previous US Presidents. However, whether Trump chooses to play tough with India or Pakistan, he is most likely to make some decisions based on his projects in India.