Democratic Platform Downgrades India

Shifts from describing them as "allies" to having a partnership

After four years of relentlessly courting India, whose independent-minded foreign policy is frequently seen to put New Delhi at odds with Washington , President Obama and the Democratic Party appear to have pared down expectations from the world's champion outlier.

The Democratic Party platform released here on Tuesday ahead of the party convention where Obama will accept nomination for a second term merely says an Obama Presidency II will "continue to invest in a longterm strategic PARTNERSHIP with India" . It is a distinct downturn from the 2008 platform in which Obama and Democrats had described the US and India as "natural strategic ALLIES" .