Modi's US visit
There was a lot of jubilation in the country over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, first in Trump 2.0, as many in India believed that much was achieved with the neutralisation of a number of apprehensions vis-a-vis relations with the US. A series of points were highlighted in the joint statement issued after Trump-Modi meeting to underscore positive shape of the relations between the two countries, especially when the world is petrified by the US President’s actions on tariffs and the new international order that he is seeking to draw.
It had to be that way. India is neither China nor Europe. It is the largest democracy and among the fastest growing economies of the world. This grants the country a standing of its own in the international community, and Trump is not a naïve to recognize this fact. Trump is known for making deals, India follows a different path where its culture and traditions guide its domestic and foreign policy. In that context, Prime Minister was right in telling the hosts that India is already engaged in Viksit Bharat project, which Trump has applied to his country with a strong communicative message: “Make America Great Again” ( MAGA).
While looking at the positive outcome of PM’s visit, there is something that the countrymen forgot to recall and understand that it is a strategic necessity for Trump to respect India as a country that refuses to be defined by others. It has shed its colonial past and marched past the idioms and phrases with which it was described not long ago.
India is an asset to the world; not just that it is the most populous country and biggest market in the world but because of its cultural values and ethos. A fresh reality check is needed to understand this.
India is a loud and formidable voice for the Global South. It is fifth largest economy, it is part of QUAD, BRICS and SCO. It has reaffirmed its position as a leading power in the world affairs. It is changing the prism of looking at the world which hitherto was under the spell of western domination.
The Munch Security Report 2025 Multipolarization released on February 10, which, by its own reckoning claims, analyzes the “far reaching consequences of the multipolrization of the international order, has devoted one full chapter on India. It has seen evidence of Indian leaders’ claim to a place among the leading powers in the summits New Delhi has recently hosted. It made a special mention of 2023 G20 Summit as well as three Voice of Global South Summits in 2023 and 2024. It noted that these summits have made the Indian leaders to position their country as an “actor that amplifies the voice of the developing countries in the international forums and acts as a bridge between the Global North and Global South. In this regard, the inclusion of the African Union in the G20, which was achieved under India’s G 20 presidency, is seen as a particular success.”
Against this back drop, the recognition that Trump made of India and its leader Modi, should not have surprised anyone. Still , Indians are delighted that President Trump had approved the extradition to India, of one of the plotters of 26/11 Mumbai atrocities, Tahawwur Rana, to face justice. And also the way India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism were shared in the joint statement, in which Pakistan came in for a special reference. The joint statement reads: “The leaders called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai, Pathankot attacks and ensure that its territory is not used to carry out cross-border terrorist attacks.”
In this very statement, India and the US recalled what all they had suffered at the hands of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan, particularly in reference to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The terror attack that lasted for three days in November 2008 left six Americans among over 160 dead. The attack had also demonstrated that terrorists - sponsored, armed and trained by Pakistan- could play havoc anywhere. Not only India’s financial capital was hit, it also shook the foundations of the Indian belief that terrorists would never dare to infiltrate and attack via sea route. That should have made Delhi to think of different kind of counter-terrorism strategies vis-à-vis hostile nations. For India, the scale of the attack was no less than the impact and suffering that 9/11 inflicted on Americans. America retaliated by attacking Afghanistan from where Al-Qaeda had launched the attacks, India did virtually nothing.
The reference to January 2016 terror attack at Pathankot is equally important. Pakistani terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad had mounted a big terror attack on Indian Air Force (IAF) Air station. That attack had two nefarious dimensions. It was carried out a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had returned from his goodwill visit to Pakistan during which he had met his counterpart Nawaz Sharif and attended his family function with a hope that it would be reciprocated in the same spirit with equal vibrancy. It foreclosed the option of pursuing dialogue with Pakistan. The history bears testimony to the fact that after Pathankot attack, the dialogue between India and Pakistan came to a halt, and it has not been resumed since.
We are happy that the US and India are on the same page. A close reading and understanding of the statement would also reveal an underlying positive message, which of course Pakistan has not been able to decipher, nor understood by some quarters within our country too. That is, that if Pakistan takes actions against the perpetrators of the 26/11 and Pathankot atrocities and stops use of its soil for exporting cross-border terrorism, Islamabad can hope resumption of dialogue with India.
There are many more messages and which can be read and understood, the way China and Pakistan have reacted to the joint statement and its contents. They had to because China is seeking to become the sole super power in direct competition with the US, but it is having formidable rival – India - because India’s standing and cultural ethos serves interests of the emerging world order.
