Barack Obama's campaign makes J&K a separate nation, hands Aksai Chin to China

BANGALORE: US President Barack Obama may call himself a friend of India, but his re-election campaign seems to be stomping all over the country's most vital interests. In the latest such instance, the president's re-election team has mangled the map of India and mis-characterised the status of Jammu & Kashmir in a campaign video assailing Republican rival Mitt Romney.

Just have a look at the screen grab from a video in which Obama's team attacks Romney for his secretiveness in disclosing tax returns. A big chunk of the eastern portion of J&K, known as Aksai Chin, is shown as part of China. As if that were not enough, J&K itself is shown as a separate country, a depiction that is at odds even with the official position of the US government. ET has written to the Obama campaign seeking a clarification and is awaiting a reply.

Obama has routinely used India as a bogeyman in a tough reelection fight in which he is pitted against the former founder of private equity firm Bain Capital. At the same time, the United States has pressed India to open sectors such as retail and insurance to foreign competiton.

Obama has railed against outsourcing, giving jitters to the Indian software industry which depends on the United States as its biggest market. His Democratic party has also been active in sponsoring legislation to curb offshore outsourcing. Furthermore, it is under the Obama administration that visa restrictions have been tightened severely and fees more than doubled, raising costs for Indian software companies.