‘What introduces friction into the ties between India and the United States is that Washington is still unable to find for India a position in its global strategy, which would satisfy India’s national self-esteem and ambitions.’ Explain with suitable examples.

Despite designating India a “Major Defence Partner” (2016) and a pillar of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington repeatedly generates friction because it slots India instrumentally — as a counterweight to China or a large market — rather than accommodating India's self-image as an autonomous pole in a multipolar world.

Where the mismatch shows

• Trade: withdrawal of GSP benefits (June 2019), “tariff king” rhetoric and recurring tariff wars — most recently the steep US tariffs of 2025 penalising India's Russian oil purchases — treat India as a trade problem rather than a strategic asset.
• Strategic autonomy: CAATSA sanction threats over the S-400 purchase, pressure to sever Russian defence and energy ties, and secondary sanctions that ended India's Iranian oil imports and complicated the Chabahar project show US domestic law overriding Indian interests.
• Af-Pak: Washington's transactional reliance on Pakistan — from military aid to facilitation of the Taliban talks — has long grated on New Delhi's sensitivities and revived fears of re-hyphenation.
• Multilateral ambitions: US support for India's UNSC permanent seat and NSG membership remains largely declaratory, while H-1B visa curbs squeeze the professionals who bind the two economies.
• Alliance expectations: Washington's preference for alliance-style alignment sits uneasily with India's strategic autonomy and its aspiration to lead the Global South.

The countervailing convergence

• Foundational agreements (LEMOA 2016, COMCASA 2018, BECA 2020), STA-1 status, the Quad's revival and iCET (2023) on critical technologies show that structural trust is nonetheless deepening.

The friction, therefore, is less about clashing interests than about status: the US has yet to internalise India as an equal, independent power. A durable partnership requires Washington to accommodate India's ambitions — technology sharing, trade stability and support for reformed multilateralism — while accepting that India will never be a treaty ally.