Arrogance Breeds Isolation

It now seems it is not India that has lost the United States — it is the United States that has lost the ability to engage India with respect, maturity and foresight.

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What we see today is not the collapse of a friendship, but the exposure of Washington's arrogance. A country that once championed the idea of a democratic partnership has chosen instead to use trade as a weapon, wield tariffs as punishment and unleash the rhetoric of intimidation. By slapping 50 per cent duties on Indian goods, while turning a blind eye to the far larger volumes of Russian crude oil imported by China, the US has exposed the double standards that have long been its hallmark. For decades, Washington has attempted to cast itself as the guardian of global order, but it is quick to abandon rules and fairness when they do not serve its interests. India, with its growing economy and strategic weight, cannot be treated as a vassal to be disciplined, nor can it be lectured for pursuing an independent foreign policy that balances energy security, economic growth and sovereign choice. The fury of Washington, channeled through trade penalties and offensive language from its officials, underlines a deep insecurity: the realization that India is no longer pliant, no longer dependent and no longer prepared to accept diktats from across the Atlantic.