‘Taking It Personally’: Expert Points To Op Sindoor Ceasefire Row Amid Trump’s Tariff Outburst
Michael Kugelman was alluding to India’s consistent denial that the US President had any involvement in the ceasefire with Pakistan following Operation Sindoor.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose additional tariffs on India over its continued oil imports from Russia appears to be motivated more by personal grievance than economic reasoning, stated Michael Kugelman, a Washington DC-based South Asia analyst and foreign policy expert, describing it as the “worst crisis” the two countries have faced in the past twenty years.
In an interaction with news agency ANI, Kugelman, who serves as the Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Centre, said the US censure seemed to arise from Trump viewing India’s assertive and independent stance as a personal insult. When asked why the US President was sparing China but targeting India, Kugelman responded:
“…China hasn’t come forward and refused to let President Trump take credit for his role in the ceasefire. China’s leader didn’t engage in a long phone call with Trump and then basically lecture him on what’s right and wrong. But that’s exactly what happened with India. So, that may be why Trump is reserving some of his strongest trade and tariff-related anger for India and the Indian government. Of course, it’s a double standard. It’s hypocritical, call it what you will…”
Kugelman was referring to India’s repeated rejection of Trump’s claim that the US had played a role in the ceasefire with Pakistan post Operation Sindoor—a claim Trump has repeated several times, suggesting that the hostilities ended due to US trade offers.
While Indian officials, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, had earlier dismissed the idea of external mediation, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement in Parliament during a special debate on Operation Sindoor that settled the matter.
“We had clearly said from day one that our action was non-escalatory. No world leader asked us to call off Operation Sindoor,” the Prime Minister stated, directly contradicting Trump’s narrative.
However, Kugelman’s remarks did not go down well with former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, who questioned why PM Modi didn’t confront Trump’s falsehoods, despite his misleading assertions.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Sibal wrote:
“Why maintain the illusion of giving false credit for a ceasefire supposedly based on trade threats—announced without consulting India’s leadership—creating the impression that India was pressured into it? Trump can repeatedly label India the ‘tariff king’, threaten sanctions, and express interest in mediating on Kashmir, yet Modi cannot tell him what is true and what isn’t? India has sovereign interests it must uphold.”
Sibal also brought attention to China’s approach toward the US and the double standards exhibited by Trump.
“Chinese spokespersons regularly make harsh remarks against the US, speak down to it, and display open defiance. Still, Trump is delaying the imposition of tariffs on China.”
