Comment by Riaz Haq on August 10, 2025 at 9:43am

Christopher Clary
@clary_co
The core reality of India’s foreign policy dilemma is this: Russia is too weak and too backward to provide India what it needs to ascend, the EU is militarily incapable and riven by its own divisions, China is too strong, and the US is erratic.

https://x.com/clary_co/status/1953062441215984120

Christopher Clary
@clary_co
Why is the US erratic? In part because it can be. It is quite powerful and far away from the most threatening other great powers (China and Russia). India is also not lucky in this regard sharing a long disputed border with the most powerful of the threatening great powers.

https://x.com/clary_co/status/1953088204518600958

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Christopher Clary
@clary_co
“Amitabh Kant, until recently Mr. Modi’s envoy for dealing with the Group of 20 economies, said, ‘[E]ven if the trade issues are sorted out, the trust would have been lost forever.’” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/world/asia/modi-india-trump-chin...
https://x.com/clary_co/status/1954511540368912889

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AI Overview
According to recent news reports, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly been experiencing a period of "soul-searching" following what has been described as the collapse of his efforts to improve ties with the United States and China.
Background
The New York Times reported that India's efforts to transform its relationships with the US and China have highlighted the limitations of India's influence on the world stage.
Prime Minister Modi acknowledged that he might face political consequences due to the ongoing trade dispute with the US.
Despite these developments, there are indications of renewed attempts to improve relations with China, with Modi scheduled to visit later this month for the first time in seven years. However, tensions remain due to border skirmishes and China's support for Pakistan's military escalation with India.
Impact
These events have led to a moment of introspection in India, revealing the constraints on its global power despite its large size and growing economy.
Recent developments
On Sunday, August 10, 2025, Prime Minister Modi indirectly criticized US President Donald Trump's "dead economy" comment during a public event in Bengaluru, emphasizing India's progress toward becoming one of the world's top three economies. He attributed this growth to a spirit of reform, performance, and transformation driven by clear intentions and honest efforts.
In summary, recent reports suggest that Prime Minister Modi and India are reassessing their foreign policy strategy and global positioning following setbacks in their relationships with the US and China.

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 10, 2025 at 9:44am

Everyone Knows Indian Economy is Dead Except Modi and Sitharaman, Says Rahul Gandhi - The Wire


https://thewire.in/politics/everyone-knows-indian-economy-is-dead-e...


New Delhi: Hours after US President Donald Trump equated India with Russia and said that they can take their “dead economies down together”, Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi echoed his statement and said that the whole world knows this fact, except Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“He [Trump] is right. Everybody knows that the Indian economy is a dead economy, except the prime minister and the finance minister. I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact. The whole world knows – India’s economy is a dead economy and the BJP has destroyed the economy. Why did they destroy it? To help Adani,” said Gandhi speaking to reporters outside the parliament on Thursday.

Gandhi’s statement came hours after Trump on Wednesday announced that a 25% tariff, plus a penalty, will be imposed on India starting August 1. The Union government has responded to it saying that it “will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest”. Later on Wednesday, Trump mounted a sharp attack and said, “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” he said.

Gandhi said that the Modi government had “destroyed India’s economic, defence and foreign policy. They are running this country into the ground.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Gandhi in his speech during the discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, demanded that the prime minister show the courage to tell parliament that US President Donald Trump is a liar in response to his continued claims of having mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

Four days of military conflict between the two countries following Operation Sindoor was brought to an end, according to Trump, after he used trade as leverage and brought the two countries back from the brink of a nuclear war. Modi in his reply said no world leader had asked Operation Sindoor to be stopped but did not name Trump.

“The foreign minister, while giving a speech, says that our foreign policy is very good. On one hand, America is criticising India, and on the other hand, China is after us. When you send your delegations around the world, no country condemns Pakistan. How are they running this country – they don’t even know how to run a country, there is total confusion,” said Gandhi on Thursday.

“Trump has said 30-32 times that he brokered a ceasefire. Trump has also said that five Indian jets have been shot down, and now he is talking about imposing a 25% tariff. Have you asked yourself why Narendra Modi is unable to respond? What is the actual reason? Who is in control – understand the situation.”

Later on Thursday Gandhi also said in a statement on X that the Indian economy is dead. “The Indian economy is dead. Modi killed it,” he wrote.

“Adani-Modi partnership, Demonetisation and a flawed GST, Failed “Assemble in India”, MSMEs wiped out, Farmers crushed – Modi has destroyed the future of India’s youth because there are no jobs,” he wrote.

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 12, 2025 at 8:55am

India's labor-intensive textile, jewelry, and auto parts industries are likely to be among the hardest hit by Trump's 50% tariffs.



https://www.dw.com/en/indian-workers-fear-economic-downturn-under-t...


According to the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat, there are about 800,000 to 1 million diamond workers in Gujarat, employed in roughly 6,000 diamond polishing units.

"The US is our single largest market, accounting for over $10 billion in exports — nearly 30% of our industry's total global trade. A blanket tariff of this magnitude is severely devastating for the sector," said Kirit Bhansali, chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.

"For cut and polished diamonds, half of India's exports are US-bound. With the revised tariff hike, the entire industry may come to a standstill, placing immense pressure on every part of the value chain — from small workers to large manufacturers," added Bhansali.

Big tariffs on the horizon

Trump last week added a 25% tariff rate to a previously announced levy of 25%, bringing the total to 50% for goods from India. The White House said India's continued purchases of Russian oil are enabling Russia's war machine in Ukraine, and are undermining US efforts to bring the war to an end. Russia is currently the single largest seller of Indian oil imports.



The US tariffs apply to Indian exports like gems, textiles, automotive parts and footwear. Electronics, smartphones and pharmaceuticals remain exempt, for now.

Even so, the tariffs threaten a significant portion of India's export economy to the US, which is valued at nearly $87 billion (€74.7 billion) annually, representing about 2.5% of India's GDP.

The 50% rate is due to take effect on August 27, leaving the door open for potential negotiations.

India was one of the first countries to initiate trade and tariff talks with the second Trump administration, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Trump in February.

The two leaders had then announced a target to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.

However, ties have now been strained by the new tariff rate and Trump's insistence that India stop buying Russian oil.

Textiles brace for impact

Millions are employed in knitwear and garment factories in the textile city of Tiruppur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

According to exporters' associations, about 30% of Tiruppur's exports go to the US, particularly in the cotton and knitwear segment. This amounted to $5.1 billion (€ 4.4 billion) in the last financial year.

The industry, which directly employs around 1.25 million workers in the wider textile belt of Tiruppur, Karur and Coimbatore, faces the risk of 100,000–200,000 job losses if exports contract in the coming months.

"With prices of Indian goods rising in the US due to these duties, trade is expected to suffer significantly. It will hit the industry and we will need to see how this plays out," K M Subramanian, President of the Tirupur Exporters' Association, told DW.

The tariffs are set to make Indian textiles more expensive for US buyers than those of competitors like Vietnam, Bangladesh, or Pakistan.

Tiruppur has a reputation for high-quality, eco-friendly knitwear and has established relationships with global brands like Walmart, GAP, and Costco.

"Standalone exporting companies will be hit first. When the first round of 25% tariffs was imposed, we were sent to the intensive care unit. But with the additional 25% penalty tariff because of Russian oil, it looks as if we have been placed in a coma," Kumar Doraiswamy of Eastern Global Clothing told DW.

"It has put exporters in crisis, which threatens jobs, revenues, and the global standing of India's textile sector," added Doraiswamy.

Auto parts exporters face headwinds

Similarly, India's automotive components sector faces the risk of declining orders as tariffsincrease costs for buyers in the US.

From 2024 to 2025, the US accounted for 27% of the $22.9 billion worth of auto components exported from India.

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 12, 2025 at 10:17am

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh claims"sub ke boss to hum hain" (We're everyone's boss in the world)

https://youtu.be/sh9GVDKc_hw

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "There are some people who are not happy with the speed at which India is developing. They are not liking it. 'Sabke boss toh hum hain', how is India growing at such a fast pace? And many are trying that the things made in India, by the hands of Indians become more expensive than the things made in those countries, so that when the things become expensive, the world will not buy them. This effort is being made. But India is progressing so fast, I say with full confidence that now no power in the world can stop India from becoming a big power of the world..." "As far as the defence sector is concerned, you will be happy to know that now we are exporting defence items worth more than 24 thousand crores. This is the strength of India, this is the new defence sector of the new India and the export is increasing continuously..."

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 12, 2025 at 10:22am

The 21st century will be “dominated by Hindutva” or “Hindu-ness”. Says Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS chief, or sarsanghachalak. “Our society needs to be vigilant and united,” he said. “While we celebrate our diversity, I will speak my language with pride, and my faith is dear to me. These are my unique identities — and I want to protect them.”

A hundred years after it was founded, the RSS is getting closer to its goal of a Hindu-first state

https://www.ft.com/content/da3bcde0-635f-4c33-b206-e6a496acae5d


On a blistering summer evening in Nagpur, a city in Central India, a sea of almost a thousand men clad in brown trousers, crisp white shirts and black caps stood stiffly, as a saffron-coloured flag quivered up a mast. A whistle shrieked and the graduating karyakartas, or “workers” — most of them moustachioed, some of them wiry, others with bulging bellies over their belt buckles — held their right arms and open palms stiff across their chests in salute, followed by a quick head bow. To the background of beating drums, they chanted in Hindi: “The collective consciousness of the people is awakening; change is surely coming.” At their sides they carried lathis, sturdy bamboo sticks.

The graduation ceremony marked the end of a month-long training programme, designed to be character-building, “man-making” and to mould the men into a brotherhood of Hindu nationalists, part of a long campaign waged by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or National Volunteers’ Organisation, which marks its centenary in September. This all-male group has become arguably the largest far-right movement in the world, with, it is claimed, some six million members. Crucially, it forms the heart, soul and muscle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party, which is steeped in RSS ideology and has been accused of turning India into a Hindu nation at the expense of its Muslim minority. That ideology imagines India to be a Hindu state. It is deeply suspicious of, and often hostile to, the country’s minority faiths. “From its inception, the goal before the Sangh was to attain the pinnacle of glory of the Hindu Rashtra [nation] . . . through organising the entire society,” reads the RSS mission statement. The 21st century will be “dominated by Hindutva” or “Hindu-ness”. Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS chief, or sarsanghachalak, gave the graduation speech. “Our society needs to be vigilant and united,” he said. “While we celebrate our diversity, I will speak my language with pride, and my faith is dear to me. These are my unique identities — and I want to protect them.”

Bhagwat is not alone in harbouring such feelings in India today. The perceived threats to Hindu identity he alluded to included those posed by neighbouring Pakistan to the west and by Bangladesh to the east as well as from an enemy within — India’s religious minorities. Modi has expressed similar fears. The prime minister has been a member of the Sangh since his youth, and went through the same set of rites as these men. He was a pracharak, or full-time RSS worker, until he entered politics in the 1980s.

Comment by Riaz Haq on Wednesday

Sushant Singh
@SushantSin
These guys in the Trump orbit seem to have complete disdain for Modi's India.

https://x.com/SushantSin/status/1960694262254727417

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Shashank Mattoo
@MattooShashank
Fox News Anchor: Do you worry that India will set trade in the rupee and not the dollar? (Laughs)

US Treasury Secretary: There are a lot of things I worry about. The rupee becoming a reserve currency is not one of them. The rupee is at an all time low against the US dollar

https://x.com/MattooShashank/status/1960687351425814934

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