The dizzying visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi now officially over (phew!), it is time to take measure and do some “reference to context” for the things done, not done or thought to have been done.

In the last category falls a certain fear that Modi may have succumbed to American pressure on a biggie – affordable medicine. Incidentally, tens of international NGOs, doctors from Medecines Sans Frontieres and nurses on the ground in Africa and elsewhere are on India’s side in this very real battle. They support India’s stand on keeping public health above pharma profits.

But they are afraid that the “strong” leader turned weak during his visit and ceded ground to the Americans on India’s intellectual property (IP) protection regime. They foresee catastrophe for the millions of HIV patients, especially in African countries, 90% of whom depend on Indian generics. Health Gap, a US-based group fighting for cheaper HIV drugs, was especially worried that American companies tried to “pressure and manipulate” Modi by threatening to withhold investments until he agreed to “improve” India’s IP regime.

The source of all chagrin: an announcement in the joint statement that India and the US will create a high-level IP working group with “decision-making” powers. Activists see the working group as a Trojan horse, which, they say, will restrict and ultimately cripple India’s generic drugs industry. So alarmed was Brook K Baker, a law professor at Northeastern University who teaches a Global HIV/AIDS seminar, he said the working group places “the US fox in the Indian chicken coop” and will be a constant source of pressure.

I am with Prof. Baker and millions of others on the right to affordable medicine. But may I say that the chicken can also sometimes jump over the fox? Besides this one is no chicken. What Modi and his team have done is to engage the US on a thorny issue because not engaging – a tactic used to a frustrating degree by the UPA government – was not a good option. The US pharma industry’s venom was spilling into other sectors. Negativity ruled.

From what I can gather, India is unlikely to kill Section 3(d) of the Patents Act (1970), the one that big pharma dislikes the most because it guards against “evergreening” or constant tinkering with the same drug for a new patent. The stakes are high and India is pushing back. The new government is confident enough that it has opened talks with the US but as an equal. It doesn’t fear a trap behind every move. Besides, India too has bones to pick with the US on enforcement of IP and copyright laws. For starters, around 500 US websites violate Indian music and movie copyrights.

Then there is merry misappropriation of India’s traditional knowledge and genetic material where there is not even a pretense that laws exist. From turmeric to Yoga, from “jeevni” to “karela” – everything from India has been exploited for private profit. The $27-billion Yoga industry in the US can be seen as one giant theft even though it brings much-needed karmic calm to the Americans. Since there are complaints on both sides, it was deemed appropriate to start talking. An Indian government delegation was in Washington in August for a frank airing of issues.

What may be happening is this: India is becoming a “demander” in addition to being a “defender.” India has two broad choices – it can stay the multilateral course and plug away at the Genevabased World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO, which it is doing, and ignore the many unilateral weapons the US government uses OR fire simultaneously on both fronts. Modi is doing the latter and avoiding the mistakes of the last government.

The IP working group will allow a candid back and forth on America’s most favourite unilateral weapon – the annual “Special 301 Report” which lists countries as bad, worse and awful.

The US has kept up pressure by keeping India on the “priority watch list” (since 1989) but didn’t downgrade it to a “priority foreign country” this year as the pharma lobby had demanded. The Obama Administration showed restraint to allow the new Indian government some time to take a look at the complaint box.

The writer is a Washington-based analyst.