When dealing with a bully, disengage from him, even if he is spoiling for a fight. Instead, assure your constituency that you will stand up for them, rally your friends, and let that be your message. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to be doing exactly this in his dealings with US President Donald Trump.
After Trump announced 50 per cent tariffs on India late on Wednesday evening, PM Modi did not pick up the phone to call him. Instead, he spent over an hour on a call on Thursday with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, discussing how both countries were facing the steepest 50 per cent tariffs from the US and how they should align forces. Earlier on Thursday, Modi said in an event that he would not compromise on the interests of Indian farmers, even if he had to pay a “heavy price" for it. This was his message to Trump’s intimidating tactics.
Trump, fuming over India’s economic ties with Russia, imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Wednesday. Yet Modi’s key aide, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, landed in Russia the same day. In a statement laced with defiance towards US pressure, Doval announced in Moscow on Thursday that the dates for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India “were almost finalised now".
Later this month, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar will also be in Moscow. On 1 September, Modi is scheduled to be in Beijing for the SCO summit, where he could hold bilaterals with both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
All this is bound to infuriate Trump further. On Thursday night, the US President said that trade deal negotiations with India would not continue until the pressing issue of its Russian oil purchases was resolved. But Modi has chosen to stand up to the bully who wants India to sign a lop-sided trade deal, senior government sources told
Trump is upset over the stalled trade talks, with India refusing to proceed as the US demands unfettered access to India’s agriculture, dairy, and fisheries sectors.
By rejecting these demands, Modi is signalling to Indian farmers that he is their “real messiah", seeking to put behind him the memories of 2020, when protests erupted over the three proposed farm laws. He rolled back those laws in 2021, and his government also provides annual assistance of Rs 6,000 each to lakhs of farmers across the country through the PM-Kisan Nidhi scheme, in addition to crop insurance. But by standing up to the US for the interests of farmers, the prime minister is making his biggest outreach to them.
Modi and Trump have spoken on the phone just twice in the past 100 days – once immediately after the 22 April Pahalgam attack, and again in June when Trump called while Modi was in Canada. On the latter occasion, Modi bluntly dismissed Trump’s false claims that he had brokered an India–Pakistan ceasefire during Operation Sindoor. The prime minister told Parliament last month that no world leader had prevailed upon India to pause Operation Sindoor, a remark that appears to have further angered Trump.
For now, Modi is expected to play it cool and rally friends to form a common front against US tactics. India has already issued an official statement describing US actions as “extremely unfortunate, unfair, unjustified and unreasonable" – the strongest language it has used against Washington in decades. India knows Trump is unpredictable and prone to U-turns, and believes that playing the waiting game is the best diplomatic option.
If a Trump–Putin meeting takes place soon, as expected, and the Russia–Ukraine war is resolved, Trump’s antagonism towards India may evaporate overnight. After all, it was Washington that first encouraged India to buy Russian oil, and the US itself continues to import materials such as uranium from Russia. A trade deal with the US will be signed by India only if it is in the “national interest", and without sacrificing Indian farmers. Until then, PM Modi will go about his business as usual, sending his own messages, such as meeting a group of farmers from Tamil Nadu in Parliament on Thursday.
Source: News18
