For the past decade, senior US officials have portrayed India as an emerging strategic partner of the United States as well as an emerging power, a democracy that respects the rule of law and shares US values.

It's mostly a true story, even if the rosy view of the bilateral relationship has never entirely been reciprocated on the Indian side. But there remains a considerable political and cultural divide between the two countries --as the ongoing furor over the arrest of an Indian diplomat in New York has vividly illustrated. Read more