Although worlds apart in terms of geography and culture, no two
nations have been so intimately connected as the United States
and India. It was Christopher Columbus' fateful error, in his
search for a new route to India, that led him to the discovery
of America. He had heard of India from the writings of Marco
Polo , whose descriptions of India's riches had fired the
ambitions of many a traveler. "The part of India known as
Malabar," Polo had written, "was the richest and noblest country
in the world."  And Marco Polo, it may be remembered, had by
then seen many lands, not least China. The hope of discovering a
passage to India was not given up even after the time of
Columbus and settlement in the New World. Rather, the hope
intensified as Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton dreamt of
discovering a land route to India-as opposed to Columbus' sea
route- and with the coming of the railroads many thought that
this dream would soon be realized. Senator Benton's statue in
St. Louis bears an inscription which reve