September 26, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, spoke to NDTV on India’s role in the upcoming U.S. election and the presidential candidates’ campaigns.
September 23, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Biman Mukherji, Amy Sood, and Maria Siow of South China Morning Post on the connection between Harris’ South Asian background and her U.S.-India policy:
Echoes of Obama
Experts say Harris’ Indian roots are likely to spark emotional connections in parts of India, much like Barack Obama’s Kenyan ties did in Africa.
Obama also spent part of his childhood living in Indonesia and received warm receptions whenever he visited the Southeast Asian nation, with domestic news offering live coverage of him visiting his childhood home in Jakarta in 2017.
A Harris victory might evoke similar sentiments in India. Residents of Thulasendrapuram celebrated her winning the vice-presidency four years ago, and the community now displays banners in support of her presidential bid.
Harris “likes to highlight her Indian origins and especially her family and upbringing, but as with Obama and Kenya, that is unlikely to have a meaningful effect on policy outcomes,” said Dhruva Jaishankar, a foreign-policy specialist and executive director of the Observer Research Foundation America.
September 21, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Biman Mukherji, Maria Siow, Kimberly Lim and Amy Sood of South China Morning Post on Harris’ caution towards her Asia policy:
Asian investments
During her visits to the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam while vice-president, Harris articulated her intent to counter China’s increasing assertiveness in the region. Her diplomatic approach has been cautious, however – leaving her future policy direction somewhat ambiguous.
“She has played it safe and been positive, but has not made a major imprint,” said foreign policy expert Dhruva Jaishankar, executive director of Observer Research Foundation America think tank.
August 25, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, spoke to the The Print on the state of bilateral ties and what the presidency of Donald Trump or Kamala Harris would mean for India.
August 14, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by So Geok Lan of ThinkChina on Harris’ Asia policy:
Asian and immigrant background may provide different perspective
Harris was born to an immigrant family in Oakland, California. Her mother is Indian and her father was born in Jamaica. After her parents divorced when she was seven, her mother raised her and her younger sister alone. Harris has often said that her mother is a strong influence in her life.
The first foreign trip Harris took as vice-president was to Southeast Asia. Over the past three years, she has been to Asia four times, visiting Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as US allies Japan and South Korea.
But analysts have deemed her visits unmemorable. In an interview with Nikkei Asia, Dhruva Jaishankar, executive director of ORF America, said, “She’s not articulated very strong views on [Asia]. The foreign policy issue that she has been most engaged on as vice president has been border security and migration from Latin America.”
August 7, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Ken Moriyasu of Nikkei Asia on the difference between Harris’ and Trump’s Asia policy:
Still, Harris has not visited India as vice president, said Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director of the think tank ORF America. "But there is a high degree of satisfaction about the Biden administration's management of the India relationship," Jaishankar said. "As of now, there are no signs of a change in policy."
August 6, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by N Madhavan of mint on how Donald Trump’s tariff plans could affect Indian businesses:
“It is not clear if the 10% tariff on imports will be selective or across the board. India may see tariffs on steel and aluminium going up," says Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, a think tank.
July 23, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was quoted in an article by Pak Yiu of Nikkei Asia on Harris’ Indian roots:
"Her lack of foreign policy experience would be something Asian leaders might notice," said Dhruva Jaishankar, executive director of think tank ORF America. "She's not articulated very strong views on (Asia). The foreign policy issue that she has been most engaged on as vice president has been border security and migration from Latin America."
July 21, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, also discussed Kamala Harris in an interview with NDTV. You can find his interview here.