Navarro's 'Brahmins profiteering' remark sparks outrage in India

A new flashpoint erupted in the ongoing trade standoff between India and the United States after White House trade counsellor Peter Navarro accused Indian elites of profiteering from discounted Russian oil.

- MPOST BUREAU

Navarro's remarks, delivered on Fox News and amplified through a series of posts on social media, have been sharply rebuked by Indian leaders, intellectuals, and the broader public.

"Modi is a great leader. I don't understand why he's getting into bed with Putin and Xi when he's the biggest democracy in the world. I would simply say to the Indian people, please, understand what is going on here, you got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop," Navarro said in his televised remarks.

The choice of the word "Brahmins" drew particular ire. While the term in American parlance has historically referred to social elites most famously "Boston Brahmins," a phrase coined in the 19th century by writer Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr -the caste reference in the Indian context triggered anger across the political spectrum. Many accused Navarro of trafficking in stereotypes and fuelling an "anti-India narrative." Navarro has previously described India as a "laundromat for the Kremlin", accusing Indian refiners of buying Russian crude at steep discounts, processing it, and selling it onward, including to European buyers. "India's big oil lobby has turned the world's largest democracy into a massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin," he posted last week, branding the conflict in Ukraine as "Modi's war".

The backlash in India was swift.