New Delhi: Congress MP and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor urged caution on Sunday over the perceived improvement in India-US relations, warning against reading too much into recent public displays of camaraderie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump.
Speaking to reporters in his Lok Sabha constituency of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Tharoor remarked, “Mr Trump has a fairly mercurial temperament,” adding that despite the seemingly warmer tone, several issues remain unresolved, particularly on the trade front.
He pointedly noted, “I don’t think we can just completely forget either the 50 per cent tariffs or the insults that have accompanied it from both the President and his staff.” These remarks were made in response to a question regarding US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s provocative comment that India would soon “say sorry and try to make a deal with Trump.”
Dismissing the suggestion, Tharoor replied sharply, “I don’t think we have anything to say sorry about at all. India has behaved with a great deal of maturity on all of this.”
While acknowledging that India’s foreign minister has emphasised a “comprehensive global strategic partnership” with the United States, a message he deemed important, Tharoor warned against prematurely embracing any shift in tone from Washington. He advised maintaining a “spirit of caution”, especially when “real-world consequences” of US-imposed tariffs are already affecting Indian stakeholders.
“I think there’s some serious repair work that needs to be done by governments and diplomats on both sides,” he said in a video shared by ANI. “What Mr Trump has been saying has caused some hurt and offence in our country. The 50 per cent tariffs have already had consequences.”
He also cast doubt on any imminent high-level engagement between the two nations, pointing out that Prime Minister Modi would not be attending the upcoming UN General Assembly session in the US, while External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is scheduled to be there on a day when Trump is not.
Beyond Tharoor’s remarks, there are other signs suggesting that the so-called thaw may be overstated. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned earlier on Sunday that further sanctions on Russia, and on countries purchasing Russian oil, such as India, could lead to economic “collapse”. According to Bessent, such a collapse might be necessary to force Russian President Vladimir Putin back to peace talks with Ukraine.
Tharoor did not comment on Bessent’s statement, and it is unclear whether he was aware of it at the time. Nonetheless, the warning echoed his own cautious approach.
Meanwhile, former Indian diplomat KP Fabian noted that Trump’s aggressive trade posture, including the additional 25 per cent tariff linked to India’s Russian oil imports, has not yielded the desired results. “Trump wanted India to surrender,” he said. “But it did not produce the desired outcome.”
In sum, while there are diplomatic gestures suggesting a softening of rhetoric between New Delhi and Washington, voices like Tharoor’s stress the importance of realism over rhetoric and ensuring that India’s interests aren’t lost amid shifting political winds.