India-US relations: History has an uncanny knack of repeating itself

This is for the third time that the US is making major strategic miscalculations in South Asia. It may be sacrificing a long-term strategic partnership for a short-term tactical gain from a failed state

- HARDAYAL SINGH

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump share a warm hug at the White House in Washington, DC in February 2025. ANI

While formulating foreign policy, points out Fareed Zakaria, a well-known American columnist and commentator, nations often misjudge who to befriend. He is right. In pivoting towards Pakistan and distancing himself from India, President Donald Trump is making such an error. He is under-

estimating the importance of India to the US. As the new rising power of Asia, it alone can help the US deter Chinese designs. Failure to understand this could prove a costly mistake.

This point needs to be understood within a historical context. India and Pakistan took vastly different trajectories after Independence. Pakistan chose to be an ally of the West. It joined the SEATO and CENTO pacts and sought for and gained support for its claim on Kashmir. India, on the other hand, selected a more independent path, and through its policy of nonalignment, declared that it would do business with anyone with whom its interests converged.