AFPC Kraemer Fellow Hosts India Luncheon

Related Categories: South Asia

On July 28, AFPC Kraemer Strategy Fellow Jeff Smith, along with President Herman Pirchner, Jr.,hosted a lunch for a visiting Indian official, Mr. Ram Madhav, member of the Central Executive of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Within India the RSS serves as an influential umbrella organization for various Hindu nationalist parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the primary political opposition in India today. Mr. Madhav briefed the audience on political developments in India following parliamentary elections this spring, in which the Congress Party returned to power and expanded its lead over the BJP. He also exchanged views on the benefits of and challenges to the U.S.-Indian partnership, as well as Indian concerns with developments in Pakistan and China.