Acknowledging the Real

The US President Donald Trump’s assertion that he is having an everlasting friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and a celebratory tone with regard to his country’s special relationship with India, is a resounding endorsement of India’s standing in the global affairs. There can be no other explanation or interpretation to what Trump told a news conference in the White House on Friday, September 5, 2025.

Trump’s sentiments vis-à-vis India-US ties and Prime Minister Modi bear a discernible mark of reality in the current world order. Despite varying perceptions about him being mercurial, Trump knows that what all is happening and whom should he be courting. This is both international necessity and understanding of the global affairs.

Before making this statement about India and PM Modi, Trump watched the global events with China being at the center of it. China had hosted the SCO summit 2025, followed by the “Victory Day” parade, marking the 80th anniversary of the conclusion of World War II. Perhaps, he had not anticipated that Modi will visit China and attend the SCO summit.

When PM Modi visited China and attended the SCO summit, he was not looking at a strategic response to the US’ uncharitable remarks since May 10th when the Operation Sindoor was halted for a while, but to move on in the world of geopolitical realism. India and China are vast neighbours and their relationship cannot be viewed through third country prism. It was also a signal to China that Indo-US relationship is independent of the thoughts and perceptions of third countries.

Trump, who had been on a spree of making not-so-pleasant remarks about India after the May 10th stopping of fierce Indo-Pak hostilities, made his remarks on Friday with all the caution. He knew what he was speaking and with what purpose.

Trump’s words assume greater significance in the context of the Indo-US relations as these have reignited the hopes amidst an atmosphere of doom and gloom that had cast the ties after the May 10th and levying of very high tariff of 50 per cent on the Indian goods exported to the US. These two issues, though independent of each other, had attempted to squeeze India’s economic and geopolitical space. America tried to underestimate India’s inbuilt strength and its resilience in overcoming the difficult situations.

On Saturday morning, India and the rest of the world listened to US President saying: “I will always be friends with Modi, he is a great Prime Minister. India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about. I get along very well with Modi as you know, he was here a couple of months ago, and we went to Rose garden.”

This significant statement about India and the Prime Minister came within a day after Trump had claimed that America had lost “Russia and India to dark China”; implying that the increasing ties between Russia, India and China were hurting America’s standing, as it was losing the friends and allies at a rapid pace. The American inconsistency in its foreign policy was laying bare the untrustworthiness of its leadership in Trump 2.0.

Indian Prime Minister, in his response to Trump’s latest positive assessment of the Indo-US ties, made a statesman like statement, appreciating the positive assessment of the Indo-US ties by the resident and also committing to take forward the relationship.

In his response to Trump’s positive utterances in months about India, Prime Minister Modi wrote: “Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties. India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership.”

Two things have surfaced in this exchange of high-value words between Trump and Modi; it has become clear that they want to move on. Both sides will gain out of the new trajectory of cooperation and forward-looking vision. Second, Trump has comprehended that his full-blown praise of Pakistan and attempts to undermine India’s strategic autonomy had geopolitical and economic costs. But there is a need for caution given the volatile world order. The silver lining, however, is that the two sides understand the mutual partnership and working together is as much in their interest as it for stabilizing the world order.

A critical appreciation of the statements made by Trump and Modi cannot be done if the recent past is not looked at. The events and utterances from Washington DC must be taken into account because these caused friction in the Indo-US ties.

The May 10th, which marked the end of the 87-hour high intensity war with Pakistan was a day of India’s military and political victory. Pakistan had requested for a ceasefire after it lost its most important military assets, and more than 150 soldiers and air force personnel. India had to do this, as Pakistan sponsored terrorists had killed 26 innocent civilians in the Valley of Pahalgam in Kashmir on April 22 piercing the soul of India. The country launched “Operation Sindoor” to avenge the loss f human lives at the hands of Pakistani terrorists and to teach terrorists and their patrons in Pakistan a lesson of lifetime. This operation, undertaken by India after it concluded that enough is enough and it would have to demonstrate its power. This operation showed to the world that India reserved the right to retaliate the terror attacks. It also drew red line for the would be trouble-makers.

Trump, out of his habit, to showcase himself as the peacemaker, while announcing that India and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire, also claimed that he had brokered this war. He went further to claim that he had the capacity to resolve “thousands of years old” Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan. Though India clarified the real position on May 10th evening, yet Trump and his aides continued to claim their role in brokering peace in a war that could have gone nuclear between the two nuclear-powered neighboring countries in South Asia.

The tariff issue had two sides. American administration charged India with very high tariffs on the Indian goods imported to the US. It levied 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods and also went in for additional 25 per cent tariff because India bought Russian oil. The allegation was that India’s purchase of the Russian oil facilitated Moscow in continuing war with Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year. This was an absurd charge. India was doing what was in its national interest. It has never accepted the third party intervention in its internal affairs. It had rejected the American help in defusing the Himalayan crisis when Chinese troops had descended at the LAC in eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020. That military standoff continued for four and a half years. It was resolved through diplomacy and dialogue between the two countries.

India’s steady course during extreme provocations on tariff and America’s self proclaimed role in ending the four-day Indo-Pak conflict on May 10^th , has started paying dividends. The US President Donald Trump’s statement on Friday bore a testimony to that.