Those are the bygone days, but reminiscences still lingering as if it could never be buried in the past. An evening at the photo exhibition on ‘60 Years of US-India Relations’ at American Center, New Delhi on 10 August 2007 reminds me of the historic moments when the relationship between the two nations bloomed and matured under the influence of many coincidences. As it was a tribute to the 60th year of India’s independence, the photo exhibition showcased a gallery comprising splendid display of momentous events and people who developed diplomatic ties between India and the United States. And more interestingly, the exhibition also displayed chronologies of both Indian and US ambassadors who played major roles in building bridges of mutual relations between the two big nations.

Opening of the exhibition was followed by a panel discussion and digital video conference sponsored by Span magazine. Notable speakers at the discussion included Mr Lalit Mansingh, former Indian Ambassador to the US; Mr Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Policy Research; Mr Steven White, Charge d’affaires, and Mr Theodore G Osius, Political Counselor for Political Affairs, US Embassy, New Delhi. And Mr Ashley J Tellis, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a specialist in international security, defence, and Asian strategic issues joined the discussion via video link from the United States. During the discussion, the noted speakers expressed their views on how India-US relations have flourished in the new world of development in the past few decades.

While celebrating the current stronghold relationship between India and the US, the two countries recollect the past moments, not just as prologue, but simply to understand how strongly Indo-US ties have been rooted in the past. Photos exhibited at the gallery included a masterpiece showing US Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker and Mrs Bunker along with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi after dedication of American Embassy building at New Delhi in 1959. And other remarkable pieces at the gallery include US President Richard Nixon and Mrs Nixon with Indian President Rajendra Prasad at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi in 1953. And alongside, showcased Prime Minister Nehru meeting with Albert Einstein at Princeton, New Jersey in 1949.

Indeed, the exhibition was a magnum opus highlighting an incredible flashback of Indo-US diplomatic cooperation. In both countries, there were, and still are, many people of high intellect and good will who transcended superficialities and felt India and the US are fundamentally on the same sides of human values and standards. A collective chronology of the US ambassadors to India at the exhibition displayed the hierarchy right from Mr Henry F Grady (1947-48), Mr Lay W Henderson (1948-51) … up to Mr Robert D Blackwell (2001-03) as well as current ambassador Mr David C Mulford. Similarly, another chronological display of the now and then India ambassadors like Mr K Asaf Ali (1947-48), Mr KR Narayanan (1980-84), Ms Vijayalakshmi Pandit, etc. up to Mr Lalit Mansingh (2001-04), and current Indian Ambassador to the US Mr Ronen Sen was also a spectacular piece at the show.

Moreover, some Indian and American leaders have had close ideological resemblances in history. Mahatma Gandhi’s role in civil right movement in South Africa has quite a deep resemblance with what Dr Martin Luther King Jr did in the US for basic human rights of black Americans. In this respect, a picture at the exhibition meant a lot as it showed Dr Martin Luther King Jr with his wife Correta Scott King placing a wreath at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi in 1959.