From January 5-18, AFPC Research Fellow Jeff M. Smith conducted a fact-finding mission throughout northern India. The trip consisted of a tour through several Indian cities - New Delhi, Agra, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Vrindivan, and Amritsar - to conduct interviews with politicians, academics, and security officials regarding the state of U.S.-Indian relations, the upcoming parliamentary elections, anti-terrorism efforts in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, Kashmir, and India's relations with neighbors such as Pakistan, China, Russia, and Iran.

Smith was also able to tour the countryside in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, visiting rural villages where medical supplies were distributed in a privately-funded effort led by CDHIF President Chandi Heffner.

While in the Punjab, Smith witnessed the daily flag-lowering ceremony at the Indo-Pakistan border at Wagah, long the only road linking the two countries. Smith reports that the U.S.-Indian relationship, which received significant boost from the U.S.-India nuclear deal passed in 2008, is in visibly good health. Indian officials regularly emphasized the fast-expanding military, political, and economic ties while stressing the need to cooperate on common challenges, such as the rise of China and Islamist terrorism.