Trump’s missteps push India towards pragmatism

It was the photograph that made headlines around the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Xinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin sharing a moment on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China. The photo, which was shared by Modi on ‘X’, sent an important message to the United States - that India would continue to pursue an independent foreign policy, which would be defined by multipolarity and its own interests.

This photo op would have been unthinkable even a few months ago. And while India and China have been slowly working towards restoring ties that deteriorated after the 2020 Galwan clashes, US President Donald Trump may have unwittingly pushed India to a quicker embrace with Beijing. And Russia. It is no wonder that his trade advisor Peter Navarro had a meltdown soon afterwards declaring that India should be with the US and not “in bed with dictators”.

The Indian news media’s coverage of the SCO meetings was, however, amateurish and embarrassing. The same media which was predicting the downfall of China post-Galwan, which was breathlessly hailing the re-election of Donald Trump, is today overdoing the India-China bonhomie and tearing into Trump. Foreign policy is not a binary and it is certainly not some melodramatic Bollywood movie where the heroine leaves one man for another with a silly song in the background. That is how the India-US-China-Russia story was covered on TV.

Nothing is black or white. India has pragmatic reasons to re-engage with China with whom it shares a nearly 3,500km long border but there remain serious issues with Beijing, including the border itself. The Indian government has still not answered crucial questions on some of the more uncomfortable issues facing the relationship and in the interest of transparency, it must answer those. This pragmatism is also reflected in Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s surprising statement that he hopes an India-US trade deal is done by November. We don’t yet know when the stalled trade talks will resume, but Goyal’s statement underlines that communication channels are open, as they should be.

India cannot afford an antagonistic relationship with Washington or with Moscow or Beijing. Ties with each of these capitals comes with important practical considerations but also there are inherent contradictions and faultlines which we cannot escape. The border dispute with China is real and continues. India and America have crucial economic and scientific ties that cannot be wished away.

The biggest damage has been done by Trump and his unhinged advisor Peter Navarro who hurls insults at India almost everyday now. The Trump administration has been after India on tariffs and now they want to go after skilled Indians on H1b visas. This will not end well.

India is not biting the bait. And nor should it. In the last few weeks, Donald Trump has undone decades of painstaking work that went into the US-India relationship, a relationship that was built by successive governments on both sides, irrespective of their political leanings. Any step taken to repair this damage must come from Washington first. Even then, it will take a long, long time for the trust deficit to be erased, if it ever is. If there is one thing America has so clearly demonstrated today, it is that it is not a reliable partner or friend to anyone.

The hard lesson for Indian diplomats and political leaders is also not falling prey to rhetoric. ‘Abki Baar Trump sarkaar’ (This time, a Trump government) doesn’t quite have the ring to it now that it appeared to back then.

Most of all, India needs to use this opportunity to reorient its economy so that it is more open and competitive. We don’t need America to tell us we are too protectionist. We are. Its time to do something about it and bring in real reform. It is time to seriously invest in infrastructure that doesn’t wither in the rain, in education and nutrition programmes that benefit the vast majority of people. This can be India’s moment but for that India will have to invest in itself first.