On the other hand, Pakistan could continue with its nuclear bluster
because it didn’t have a clear goal except revenge on behalf of terrorists. And, the US seems to fallen for the bluff, instead of calling it out.
India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri repeatedly said that the only goal of the retaliation on May 7 was to take down the terrorists operating out of Pakistan and not to escalate it into a war with the army on the other side. Most Indians didn’t see it as a sign of India’s reluctance or weakness, and rightly so, until the ceasefire. What changed on the evening of May 10? It was Trump’s post on Truth Social.
By talking about India and Pakistan as if they were equals, politically, economically, and morally, Trump has undone, in 140 words, what took the US decades to learn and accept. It’s not Modi’s fault that Trump doesn’t care for history.
It took years of work by successive Indian governments, both economic and diplomatic, as well as Pakistan’s indiscretion (like the one in Kargil), to convince Americans that the political and military class in the two countries aren’t cut from the same cloth. The India-US nuclear deal in 2003 was seen by many as an an acknowledgement of that fact by Washington D.C.
The understanding of the difference between the approach of the two administrations in New Delhi and Islamabad only became more distinct in the following years. “One of the things that we’ve been able to do is, in a sense, to continue to continue to de-hyphenate the relationship with Pakistan..” Condolezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, underscored the point on her way to Asia in March 2005.
To the American gaze, the rising global significance of the Indian economy also made it a more credible counterweight to China in Asia. Meanwhile. Pakistan became increasingly indebted and beholden to Beijing’s interests. That the government in Islamabad groomed terrorists on its soil, funded it with dollars received as aid, and used it against America’s allies only cemented India’s position as the more dependable partner in South Asia.
The revival of the QUAD, a strategic diplomatic partnership between the US, India, Japan, and Australia, in 2017 cemented India’s prominence on the global stage. As India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar put it, in Washington D.C. in October 2019, “How do you hyphenate a country, which is one-eighth of your economic size… which is reputationally your exact opposite?”
Its role as the vaccine supplier to the world during the pandemic gave India the moral edge. On the other hand, Pakistan lost whatever leverage it had with America’s retreat from Afghanistan in 2021.
It doesn’t seem like Trump and his team, including JD Vance, considered any of these developments. India has no choice but to push back against the shift in narrative.
However, whether Modi convinces Trump to eat. his words or not, the reality on ground won’t be very different.
India is still the bigger force, more democratic country, and a self-reliant economy, which is capable of more discretion than Pakistan. As he negotiates with Beijing, Trump would do well to remember that, of the two countries, India is the only one that isn’t surviving on its pledges to China.
As for the self-proclaimed Indian nationalists, they should remember that the battle is still on. It may not be fought on the border but those negotiating for our rights and prospects with foreign powers across the table need your moral support just as much. Every society needs politics and diplomacy as much as valour.
