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The Conscience Network: Fighting the emergency and the US battlefront
Aditi Phadnis Mumbai
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The Conscience Network: A Chronicle of Resistance to a Dictatorship
Published by Penguin
553 pages ₹1,299
There can be no debate on the Emergency in India. It was a dark time in Indian democracy and politics for which even the Congress has offered an explanation and a qualified apology. But 50 years after the event, the mystifying demand of top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary Dattatreya Hosabale that the words 'socialist' and 'secular' be removed from India's preamble does make you wonder. The 42nd Amendment that introduced the words during the Emergency didn't just amend the Preamble which is non-justiciable
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First Post
19 minutes ago
- First Post
India's way in the topsy-turvy world of Trump's tariffs
India could consider redirecting exports to the United States via the UK, with which it has just concluded a free trade agreement. The UAE also presents another potential route read more America is annoyed, along with the Nato countries in Europe, at India's neutrality on Ukraine and buying petroleum from war-sanctioned Russia. File Photo/Reuters The US-India relationship, called a geostrategic imperative for decades now, particularly in conjunction with the rise of China as a challenger to US hegemony, seems to have soured very suddenly. What India now does about the situation will define not only the bilateral relationship going forward and the multilateral one in Quad but also India's standing in the world. This, as it goes towards becoming the world's third largest economy before 2030. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The answer lies in a combination of retaliatory tariff hikes and even brand-new impositions on American companies operating in India, for example, in the digital space, and diplomatic accommodation of American demands on trade wherever possible. Caving in abjectly to US dictation has been swiftly ruled out. Perhaps the policymakers in Washington have not properly assessed the determination and backbone of the Modi administration. In response to the near abusive tone adopted by Trump, unable to bully India into buckling under, India has said it will act only in its national interest. But having said that, to take the relationship forward without a rupture, very skilful give and take will nevertheless have to take place. Even an adversary like China realises this in the midst of this tariff war with the US. The Indian stock market is not unduly perturbed because tariff impositions like this cannot make too much of an impact in a country driven by its domestic economy. This is the key difference between India and many other highly export-dependent countries. Still, the US currently accounts for half of all Indian exports, and till lately, the bilateral trade was expected to treble to $500 billion by 2030. Unless repaired, the present figure of $150 billion, with the balance of trade in India's favour, could largely evaporate. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Instead of it being thought of as the 'plus one' to China as the US seeks to create new supply chains, other countries in South and Southeast Asia could assume this mantle, albeit collectively. This would be bad for India as a historic opportunity missed. At the same time, India's stellar growth rate of about 6.5 per cent in GDP year-on-year, the highest amongst all major economies, could be impacted by up to 0.5 per cent by US tariffs at 25 per cent on Indian exports. This is not counting as yet excluded sectors such as service exports, meaning software in the main. Pharmaceuticals are also not included, but tariffs on them have been threatened. Indian pharma companies have been brought under the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) scanner. These include Aurobindo Pharma, Reddy's Laboratories, and Sun Pharma. Various inspections are being conducted. But generic drug exporters could face tariffs next. Then there are as yet unspecified penalties for India's membership of Brics, perceived as an anti-US organisation hostile to using the US dollar as a global currency for most trade. Does India need to really stay in Brics which leans towards China, or could it move away to a leadership of the Global South instead? STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India wants to promote its UPI but not get rid of the US dollar in favour of the Chinese currency. It has made this clear on more than one occasion. America is also annoyed, along with the Nato countries in Europe, at India's neutrality on Ukraine and buying petroleum from war-sanctioned Russia. The Trump administration also does not want India to buy armaments from Russia either despite the great success of the S-400 and Brahmos missiles in the recent Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. We will know the extent of the blow only when the penalties are specified, but it could be well over 100 per cent. For now, India has been subjected to one of the higher tariffs amongst its export competitors, Vietnam and Bangladesh, for example. These begin in the absence of its agreement to allow American dairy, Genetically Modified seeds, and agricultural products at nil tariff into the country. The sectors gravely affected are textiles and ready-made garments, plus gems and jewellery, which are all labour intensive. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India could consider redirecting these exports via the UK, with whom an FTA has just been concluded at nil duty. The UAE, with which country India also has an FTA, presents another route. We do not have tariffs like Vietnam for conducting third-party exports either. India, like others, and China before it, could look for circumventions too. Even after five rounds of face-to-face negotiations and a sixth meeting scheduled around August 20-21 in Delhi, dairy and agricultural products are sticking points. Will India be able to concede ground on some items within this sphere, particularly in the processed foods area, to allow the Trump administration to call it a win? Of course, the dairy and agriculture sectors are politically sensitive in India, with rural India, its farmers, and others constituting a very powerful voting block and lobby, ever ready to march on Delhi in an instant. Still, certain items in the detail that don't pose a threat to Indian agriculturists could be allowed in. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD An interim trade deal could then result, and the punitive 25 per cent tariffs would be overtaken. A full agreement could come after at least a year when all issues have been scrutinised and negotiated. America wants access to the Indian market, and India would be churlish to miss the chance to achieve a good FTA with America. This is more so with China as our main economic and military competitor next door. India could also further diversify its imports of oil and gas, looking farther afield to reduce its purchase of Russian products. This provided lucrative deals better than those on offer from Russia could be struck. Hopefully, the Trump administration will not take an absolutist position and live and let live. As for armaments, can America supply what India needs quickly enough and at a reasonable price? The US track record on the supply of GE 404 and 414 engines for India's hugely delayed Tejas 1A and 2A fighter programmes has been most discouraging. Likewise, the Apache AH-64E combat helicopters on order are vastly delayed for some years; the deal was signed in 2020. With only three out of the six just delivered, and the other three promised by the end of 2025. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD America is also very expensive, slow on export permissions on its high-technology armaments, and reluctant to collaborate and transfer technology. It would have to change all this and be consistent going forward without using any of it for leverage against India. While Russia is immersed in the war in Ukraine, it has continuously tried to support the Indian armed forces and has offered the best terms on its advanced equipment with technology transfer. France, Germany, the UK, and Israel have also become defence partners with India and provide alternatives to both Russia and America. The commercial Boeing aircraft on order by the private sector are also much delayed, even as various Boeing aircraft in India and abroad are showing a lot of technical problems that even resulted in a major crash of a 787-8 Dreamliner at Ahmedabad recently. Is the American aviation industry slipping? The $100 million F35 is showing problems, with one stranded for over a month in India before it was repaired and another crashed in America. Everything military equipment-wise, if it comes from the US, is most tardy. But still, yes, there is definitely room for give and take and revisions of stance between the two great democracies. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The writer is a Delhi-based political commentator. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
Hindustan Times
19 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
2 terrorists killed in overnight encounter in J&K's Kulgam
Two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district on Saturday, officials said. A CRPF vehicle moving past people standing on a roadside during an encounter between terrorists and security forces in the Akhal area of Kulgam district on Saturday. (PTI Photo) The overnight encounter began after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in a forest area at Akhal in the south Kashmir district, following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists there. After an initial exchange of fire between the two sides on Friday evening, the operation was halted for the night, the officials said. The cordon was strengthened, and additional reinforcements were rushed to the area. Firing resumed on Saturday morning, during which two terrorists were killed, the officials said. The identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorists are being ascertained, they added, noting that the operation is still underway. Operation Akhal is the third major encounter in the last seven days. Earlier on Wednesday, two terrorists were eliminated during Operation Shivshakti, in a gunfight with security forces near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, following an infiltration attempt. The encounter began on Tuesday night in the Kalsian-Gulpur area after Indian forces intercepted a group of terrorists attempting to infiltrate the border. On July 28, three Pakistani terrorists were killed during an encounter in J&K's forested Lidwas area near Harwan, located on the outskirts of Srinagar. The operation named 'Operation Mahadev' eliminated the terrorists who were behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. One of the terrorists was identified as Suleiman, the mastermind of the Pahalgam attack, while the others were identified as Afghan and Jibran. All three were senior operatives of the Pakistan-based banned group Lashkar-e-Toiba. (With PTI inputs)
Mint
19 minutes ago
- Mint
Trump's warm embrace of India turns cold
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Modi 'must be very, very unhappy," said Manoj Joshi, a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think tank. India, viewed by the U.S. as a bulwark against China, has rankled Washington with its persistent relationship with Russia. New Delhi purchases Russian oil and weapons, propping up Russia's economy, and along with Moscow is part of a loose, five-nation grouping of nations known as the Brics. As Trump has turned against Russian President Vladimir Putin for not ending the war in Ukraine, he has vowed to impose tariffs on countries that do business with Moscow. India, Trump said Wednesday, would incur a 'penalty" for its continued purchases of Russian goods. 'I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," Trump added in another social-media post Thursday. President Trump hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in February. Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters Friday that the U.S.-India relationship 'has weathered several transitions and challenges. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to and are confident that the relationship will continue to move forward." Still, Trump's comments are a stark shift from the early days of the administration, when officials in both Washington and New Delhi hoped to build on the Trump-Modi relationship established during the president's first term. Mike Waltz called ties between the two countries 'the most important relationship of the 21st century" before Trump tapped him as national security adviser. Trump hosted Modi at the White House in February and praised him as a 'much better negotiator," while Modi mirrored Trump's campaign catchphrase and said he wanted to 'make India great again." High-profile visits to New Delhi by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Vice President JD Vance followed. Yet the warm glow faded in the following months, when efforts to swiftly clinch a bilateral trade deal foundered. Trump, current and former officials said, is deeply frustrated by the lack of progress with New Delhi. A point of contention in tariff negotiations is the U.S.'s push to open India's agricultural markets, which employs over 40% of the country's workforce. Opening up the sector, which has long been protected by New Delhi, would anger India's farmers, a powerful voting bloc. That presents a perilous political risk for Modi, who abandoned an effort in 2021 to deregulate the agricultural sector after facing nationwide protests from farmers. Trump said the U.S. and India are still negotiating a trade deal even after the Aug. 1 deadline for an agreement. U.S.-India ties hit another snag in May when India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, clashed over a four-day stretch. The conflict started after a militant attack in the disputed Indian-administered Kashmir region that Modi's government blamed on Pakistan. Pakistan denied any role in the assault. As the conflict raged, the U.S. received intelligence that India launched the Brahmos cruise missile to strike targets in Pakistan, according to Trump administration officials. The U.S. assesses that the weapon, produced in partnership with Russia, can carry nuclear warheads, current and former officials said, though India says it is solely a conventional missile. Trump feared that India might decide to equip one of the missiles with a nuclear bomb if the crisis spiraled out of control, officials said, or that Pakistan could decide to launch a nuclear device of its own, leading Trump to encourage Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to call their counterparts. Trump posted on social media that his team brokered a deal that led to a cease-fire on May 10. Pakistan embraced the announcement, praising Trump and nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. India, by contrast, bristled at Trump's assertions and insisted no outside power dictated the cease-fire. India's insistence that the U.S. role was overblown has privately angered Trump, who has told aides he's upset with Modi for not thanking him. A White House official said Trump leveraged his relationships with both India and Pakistan to secure a cease-fire that the administration insists could have gone nuclear without his involvement. The official wouldn't comment on India's use of the Brahmos missile as the reason for Trump's concerns. Officials at the Indian Embassy in Washington said India has a no-first-use nuclear policy, so its use of the Brahmos missile should have caused no alarm in the U.S. about a nuclear escalation. Trump strained ties even further by offering to mediate the longstanding Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. 'That was embarrassing for India. India has always rejected the idea of third-party mediation, something that Pakistan has always sought," said Lisa Curtis, a former senior National Security Council official who oversaw South Asia policy in Trump's first term. 'If there had just been one or two tweets on May 10, the two sides could have recovered from it. However, Trump has talked multiple times about the U.S. bringing about the cease-fire." Trump's embrace of Pakistan and pressure on India over its ties with Russia and trade could backfire at just the moment when India was warming up to defense ties with the West. 'It's going to push India increasingly into the hands of Russia," said Derek Grossman, a former U.S. intelligence official and professor on Indo-Pacific security affairs at the University of Southern California. In recent years, India has sought to pivot away from relying on Russia for military equipment, especially after the Ukraine war cut off the ready flow of Russian-made weapons. From 2020 to 2024, India imported 36% of its military hardware from Russia, its largest supplier, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. That was a shift from the 2006-10 period, when 82% of India's military equipment was imported from Russia. The U.S. has previously targeted Indian businesses for allegedly helping Russia evade sanctions by selling dual-use technology that could bolster Moscow's military production. In announcing that the U.S. would place 25% tariffs on Indian goods, Trump also criticized India for purchasing large quantities of Russian oil. India has taken advantage of discounted oil prices from Russia after many Western countries stopped buying or curbed their purchases. In the last quarter of 2024, India accounted for one-third of Russia's oil exports, according to ORF. 'It is most certainly a point of irritation in our relationship with India—not the only point of irritation," Rubio said in a Fox News interview on Thursday. 'With so many other oil vendors available, India continues to buy so much from Russia, which in essence is helping to fund the war effort and allowing this war to continue in Ukraine." The newfound U.S. attention to the matter has put India in a bind. 'Abruptly dropping Russian oil will have consequences for the relationship. On the other hand, the promised U.S. sanctions will have their own impact," said ORF's Joshi. 'Just how to square this circle is a tough one." Write to Alexander Ward at Robbie Gramer at and Shan Li at
