Posted on 06/13/2008 8:22:19 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
NEW YORK: The popularity of the United States in India has shot up dramatically since 2002, in a period in which Uncle Sam's image took a beating globally, a survey has said.
America turned out to be the most popular in India, with its ratings rising up to 71 per cent, up from 54 per cent in the summer of 2002, in the survey conducted by an independent body - the Pew Research Centre - over 16 nations to assess favourabilty ratings of five major countries.
Besides, India is the only country outside the US where a majority of people sounded soft on President George W Bush, who fared poorly in the popularity contest, trailing behind even the former British PM Tony Blair.
Fifty four per cent of the people surveyed in India expressed confidence in the leadership of the President as against 17 per cent in Turkey and 24 per cent in Lebanon.
The image of the North American country as a land of opportunities also received a setback, as most of the surveyed populations preferred Australia, Canada, Great Britain and even Germany as a favoured destination.
Yet again, only in India, which has over a million expats living in America, the country is seen as the world's leading land of opportunity, with 38 per cent of the Indians surveyed rating the country as their first choice.
The survey also sought opinions from people around the world on their expectations from the next US president.
While optimism emerged from the countries like France, Spain and Germany, where public opposition to Bush's policies in Iraq and elsewhere has been strong, people surveyed in India, South Africa and Nigeria, where criticism of current US policies has been less pronounced also sounded hopeful.
Mexico? Aren’t they all here?
China might like us a little less pretty soon.
With the price of fuel, and the associated shipping costs, I wonder how the offshoring crowd is making out? :)
Why not; the Hindus have ben dealing with Moslem perfidy for centuries, and we’re the only nation on earth who’s taken a serious role in doing anything about it in the modern world.
We love India too. As a love letter we’re sending them all our jobs!
“Mexico? Aren’t they all here?”
Not all, just their worst citizens. And yep, the ones that are here hate America.
The closer they are to nutjobs that want to kill them and/or recent dictatorships, the more they like the US.
Telling.
Hating the US is either because you are a killer or a luxury afforded by effetes under our protection.
Excellent point.
Wah. Go buy an economics textbook.
“We love India too. As a love letter we’re sending them all our jobs!”
The call center, and tech jobs that can be done over the internet, we’ll keep doing that.
Manufacturing? Not so much. Must cost a pretty penny to get a load of widgets from India or China to America?
This delights me.
Hmmm. According to the chart, Poland likes us more than India.
In any case, I’m not surprised. Poland has suffered from communist oppression, and India from terrorism. The other countries have forgotten what oppression is like. They’ve had it too easy and think a just and safe country is the norm. It’s not.
See my tagline.
I have some Indian friends who are professionals. They are very American and very conservative. They immigrated here legally and I doubt seriously if they would ever vote for a Marxist and a “stealth Muslim” like Barry.
I like people from India too.
Seems like I am talking with somebody over there every other week.
Comment was facetious.
It remains to be seen whom India is really allied with.
And America loves India! Or at least the legal immigrants that come here. Very hard working people and I admire them.
It's my sincere hope that India will be a great ally of America.
I don't think there's anything special about university education in India. It's just that many of the best and the brightest end up emigrating to the U.S.
You don’t get out much, do ya?
Oh no ! Nigeria doesn’t like us anymore !
I respectfully apologize!
I think the 8% rise might derive from that factor, but it’s not true that the US is the only nation on earth which has done anything to mitigate the problem. Israel, which also lives the reality of being surrounded by muslims, has assisted India.
S. Korea’s opinion has gone up by 12%! I wonder from what that might derive.
I am a proud non-hyphenated American of Indian descent and am a staunch conservative (no McCain for me). However there are very few ‘Indians” that are Republicans. I would say 75% of Indians vote democrat. Most live their lives conservatively and do not depend on the govt. The US policy towards Pakistan is one reason, the other is a inaccurate perception that Republicans are not welcoming towards non-whites.
Unlike our black brethren though, they are the most “ripe for the taking” group and are natural conservatives.
Barack may change the 75% to lower than 50% since he is way too far to the left and hates the USA which is not how the vast majority of “Indians” think.
This is nice to hear, because I like Indians. Of course, maybe I am a bad example, because I tend to like all people, but I find that I understand Indians, and they seem friendly to me.
I appreciate the work ethic of most Indian immigrants, and their generally law-abiding habits. They almost all can speak English, many quite well. They make great friends.
Most Americans are barely aware of this, what freaks most out (at least the coastal ones I know) is that the Euros, especially the Western ones, are so antiAmerican.
On a campus, I saw a jacket embazoned with the Stars&Stripes and a similar tshirt being worn as well.
Try finding that on a Euro campus.
Now this does not mean that Americans aren’t the butt of jokes about their behavior in India! Water, where’s my water bottle? Is is safe???? Why do you smoke so much? Why do you drink so much? You shouldn’t eat that, it’s bad for you! Aren’t you worried about global warming? WAAAAAAAAAHH!
Intersting — the other nations that have 60% or more of their populations who love America are: S. Korea, Poland and Nigeria. I wonder what’s the common point
actually, transportation by ship is a lot cheaper than transportation overland. So shipping a large volume of goods from Asia to the US by sea could be cheaper than moving it from, say, LA to NY
Ah, the Indian government is still crippled by idiotic communists who form a party (waddyaknow, they have commies who contest elections) that is blatantly pro-China and throws a wrench into the works everytime there are talks with the US
Maybe you can tell me, why is the government in India in such a sorry state and why are they still under the control (largely but not completely) of socialists and communists? Is it because the majority of the citizenry does not take part in the elections? Is it because the majority DOES take part but because of the numbers of poor they vote for collectivists?
I can't figure out how the country has made such strides in the last two decades yet the government still seems so fractures and has such a collectivist lean to it. And my fear is that they are following the ChiComs footsteps, that is, that they'll use the free market to strengthen their economy while clamping the iron fist of collectivism around their nation.
You’re right; I was forgetting Israel. Don’t know anything about Korea.
“actually, transportation by ship is a lot cheaper than transportation overland. So shipping a large volume of goods from Asia to the US by sea could be cheaper than moving it from, say, LA to NY”
Something made in China will come to the west coast and then have to be trucked. It has to be shipped by sea first. Something manufactured in the US will be trucked only. As fuel prices climb that shipping will get more and more expensive.
you have a good point
1. The legacy of association with the Soviet Union from 1 948 -1990
2. The inherent flaw in a “democracy” where a minority communist party can exert undue influence especially in a coalition govt by threatening a motion of no-confidence.
3. 50% of the population is uneducated and fall easy prey to marxist ideas and being taken care of
4. India is a fairly corrupt nation and the best and brightest do not go into politics. So the competence level of people in govt is very low.
5. There are educated and free enterprise loving people in India but in sheer numbers, the poor are the majority and the politicians can cater to them and win.
6. Fraud at the ballot box is rampant: makes Chicago look like child's play.
7. There is a wholly different concept of the role of govt. The U.S. constitution is truly unique in spelling out a very limited role of govt. The Indian constitution spells out a much more expansive role for govt and the average person on the street believes that the govt should have a major role in most aspects of life. This is true of most of the world BTW : the concept of limited govt is uniquely American. If only we actually followed it here (but that is a whole different topic !)
You add all these factors and that begins to explain the sorry state of govt. India is not exactly aligned with the Chi-coms and has had a war with them in 1965 and there are border disputes to this day.
India is a quasi-socialist state but not a welfare state. The average citizen is actually far more self reliant than the average European and Indians are a very enterprising bunch borne of necessity.
All of that being said, India is the most pro-American country in the world and is a natural ally of the United States. Along with Israel, India is the only country that truly understands the threat of ISLAM and has dealt with it for over 1,000 years.
I’m not of Indian descent, but it seems that many Dem-voting Americans of Indian decent are “convertible” Democrats - if a Reagan comes along that can show them why conservatism is the way to go...they can be switched.
Also I think McCain will get a large chunk of that vote, but less for his conservatism (or lack of) than simply Obama’s lack of appeal.
Both excellent points. I would add that a lot of Indians mistakenly believe that there is room only for Christian conservatives in the Republican party. That is disavowed upon closer inspection but this false perception keeps a lot of them from associating themselves as a Republican. The Democrats have marketed themselves as the so called party of diversity and sadly too many Indians fall for this.
Interestingly this is the same ‘Divide and Rule” policy that the British utilized to occupy India for 200 years. The democrats use exactly the same philosophy.
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