It didn't have to come to this. India-US relations are in desperate need of Operation Salvage and a restorative touch. Donald Trump's insults and excessive tariffs on India totalling 50% are threatening to bury the relationship, a fate neither side wants.
You can say that this too shall pass, and India will ride it out, but decisions made now, when tempers are high and vision is clouded, can affect the relationship for years to come. The famed friendship between Trump and Narendra Modi is already a casualty of the crisis.
It's clear that Trump makes all the major decisions - be it to bend, to mend or to upend relations with other countries. He is the only one who matters, but India appears to have no effective channel to him that one can detect. It's proving to be the biggest gap in India's diplomacy.
Meanwhile, Asim Munir was on his second visit to the US in less than two months, allegedly issuing nuclear threats against India and attending the farewell of the Centcom commander, Michael Kurilla, on the side.
New Delhi, clearly out of favour with Trump, is reduced to looking for a side door entry into Washington. MEA's adroit welcoming of Trump's peace-making efforts with Vladimir Putin and with Armenia and Azerbaijan was noticeable.
The dip in relations comes against the backdrop of growing anti-India feeling within the MAGA ecosystem. Prominent MAGA voices are spewing venom against Indians on social media as job stealers, brown hordes, builders of 'pagan temples' and followers of strange-looking gods. It's ugly. Anger against H-1Bs - always present - has burst into the open. Trump's top political and immigration adviser, Stephen Miller, is leading the charge - there's little political price to pay for denigrating Indians.
Those who think Trump will stand in the way because of economic compulsions may be in for a shock. He won't irk his base for India, especially when he feels aggrieved by Indian actions.
Indian officials say multiple channels are at work to reach the president. But no breakthrough is discernible. The vast tech ecosystem has not been mobilised. Ditto for the diaspora and Indian-American donors, one of whom has gone public with offers of help. Asha Jadeja Motwani, one of the biggest donors with close to $2.5 mn to the Republican National Committee, who knows J D Vance and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, has repeatedly said on X she can intervene on India's behalf. But she hasn't heard from the Indian embassy, she said.
Inroads into Trump's inner circle should have ideally been made during the campaign and continuously broadened after he won. Assumptions that India can 'manage' Trump, depend on China hawks to keep the balance, and make tactical concessions on trade to keep Trump in good humour have proven painfully wrong.
Trump's re-engagement with Pakistan came as a shock. Yes, the US has a long history with Pakistan, but the latest phase caught India unawares. Not knowing meant no preventive diplomacy and no chance for a counteroffensive. One can take refuge under the umbrella that everything about this president is crazy, all countries are suffering, and India is no exception - all true - but the fact remains that some countries have done better than some others.
Trump's resentment against India in the aftermath of Op Sindoor has proved to be the main problem that compounds with each passing day. After the third time Trump claimed credit for the ceasefire, it should have become clear his umbrage was real and required a political touch. Perhaps it was unwise to dismiss it as 'Trump being Trump' as most of us did. Early outreach might have helped, but diplomatic wisdom ordained otherwise.
As others have said, Modi could have called, finessed the whole thing, and acknowledged him as a 'peace president' without ceding ground on third-party mediation in Kashmir. This is not an argument for 'kissing the ring', but a call could have been used to creatively pull Trump into India's corner, thank him for 'pressuring' Pakistan into a ceasefire, and to remind him he has always been against terrorism and that peace in South Asia depends on ending cross- border terrorism.
Granted that hindsight is 20/20, and no one can predict how Trump would have responded. But a more innovative approach was worth a try. Instead, Trump's capriciousness and extractive tactics, combined with India's stern diplomacy, have pushed the relationship to an uncertain place. Ignoring the personal has come at a heavy price, with Trump going the extra mile to punish India, to say nothing of the negative atmospherics.
Officials on both sides claim that apart from Trump, the relationship continues 'apace', citing bilateral activity as proof. Frankly, it doesn't ring true. This has been a reality check, and unless something changes dramatically, the coming three years under Trump with this level of difficulty will be hard. Riding it out with an actively hostile president in the White House?
You can say that this too shall pass, and India will ride it out, but decisions made now, when tempers are high and vision is clouded, can affect the relationship for years to come. The famed friendship between Trump and Narendra Modi is already a casualty of the crisis.
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It's clear that Trump makes all the major decisions - be it to bend, to mend or to upend relations with other countries. He is the only one who matters, but India appears to have no effective channel to him that one can detect. It's proving to be the biggest gap in India's diplomacy.
Meanwhile, Asim Munir was on his second visit to the US in less than two months, allegedly issuing nuclear threats against India and attending the farewell of the Centcom commander, Michael Kurilla, on the side.
New Delhi, clearly out of favour with Trump, is reduced to looking for a side door entry into Washington. MEA's adroit welcoming of Trump's peace-making efforts with Vladimir Putin and with Armenia and Azerbaijan was noticeable.
The dip in relations comes against the backdrop of growing anti-India feeling within the MAGA ecosystem. Prominent MAGA voices are spewing venom against Indians on social media as job stealers, brown hordes, builders of 'pagan temples' and followers of strange-looking gods. It's ugly. Anger against H-1Bs - always present - has burst into the open. Trump's top political and immigration adviser, Stephen Miller, is leading the charge - there's little political price to pay for denigrating Indians.
Those who think Trump will stand in the way because of economic compulsions may be in for a shock. He won't irk his base for India, especially when he feels aggrieved by Indian actions.
Indian officials say multiple channels are at work to reach the president. But no breakthrough is discernible. The vast tech ecosystem has not been mobilised. Ditto for the diaspora and Indian-American donors, one of whom has gone public with offers of help. Asha Jadeja Motwani, one of the biggest donors with close to $2.5 mn to the Republican National Committee, who knows J D Vance and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, has repeatedly said on X she can intervene on India's behalf. But she hasn't heard from the Indian embassy, she said.
Inroads into Trump's inner circle should have ideally been made during the campaign and continuously broadened after he won. Assumptions that India can 'manage' Trump, depend on China hawks to keep the balance, and make tactical concessions on trade to keep Trump in good humour have proven painfully wrong.
Trump's re-engagement with Pakistan came as a shock. Yes, the US has a long history with Pakistan, but the latest phase caught India unawares. Not knowing meant no preventive diplomacy and no chance for a counteroffensive. One can take refuge under the umbrella that everything about this president is crazy, all countries are suffering, and India is no exception - all true - but the fact remains that some countries have done better than some others.
Trump's resentment against India in the aftermath of Op Sindoor has proved to be the main problem that compounds with each passing day. After the third time Trump claimed credit for the ceasefire, it should have become clear his umbrage was real and required a political touch. Perhaps it was unwise to dismiss it as 'Trump being Trump' as most of us did. Early outreach might have helped, but diplomatic wisdom ordained otherwise.
As others have said, Modi could have called, finessed the whole thing, and acknowledged him as a 'peace president' without ceding ground on third-party mediation in Kashmir. This is not an argument for 'kissing the ring', but a call could have been used to creatively pull Trump into India's corner, thank him for 'pressuring' Pakistan into a ceasefire, and to remind him he has always been against terrorism and that peace in South Asia depends on ending cross- border terrorism.
Granted that hindsight is 20/20, and no one can predict how Trump would have responded. But a more innovative approach was worth a try. Instead, Trump's capriciousness and extractive tactics, combined with India's stern diplomacy, have pushed the relationship to an uncertain place. Ignoring the personal has come at a heavy price, with Trump going the extra mile to punish India, to say nothing of the negative atmospherics.
Officials on both sides claim that apart from Trump, the relationship continues 'apace', citing bilateral activity as proof. Frankly, it doesn't ring true. This has been a reality check, and unless something changes dramatically, the coming three years under Trump with this level of difficulty will be hard. Riding it out with an actively hostile president in the White House?
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com.)
Seema Sirohi
Senior journalist who writes on foreign policy and India's place in the world.