For over two years the United States political and administrative system found it difficult to appoint an ambassador to India. Finally, on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, an ambassador landed in New Delhi and the President of India received his credentials quickly to allow him to hit the ground running, so to speak. Ambassador Eric Garcetti has already made waves with his new style of diplomacy, engaging civil society and business across the country. Gone are the days when US ambassadors were content to meet the movers and shakers of Lutyens’ Delhi. Garcetti has been to markets and restaurants, tweeting his way around.
When Harvard professor Robert Blackwill was appointed US ambassador to India, his format for engaging civil society representatives was to convene a seminar around a round table. The famous ‘Blackwill Round Tables’ became known for their vigorous academic exchanges, given that Blackwill was a professor and a diplomat. The late Vinod Mehta, Outlook magazine editor, walked out of one such round table because Blackwill was being more professorial than diplomatic, and asked him not to speak out of turn.
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For over two years the United States political and administrative system found it difficult to appoint an ambassador to India. Finally, on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, an ambassador landed in New Delhi and the President of India received his credentials quickly to allow him to hit the ground running, so to speak. Ambassador Eric Garcetti has already made waves with his new style of diplomacy, engaging civil society and business across the country. Gone are the days when US ambassadors were content to meet the movers and shakers of Lutyens’ Delhi. Garcetti has been to markets and restaurants, tweeting his way around.