Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his obedient followers are celebrating the Indo-US deal as a great boon for India. But Modi’s critics are vehemently condemning it as a “surrender of Narendra” to the pressure tactic of US President Donald Trump.
India under the Modi rule is in a precarious situation. Before the present term of Trump, India was in a better and advantageous position. Trump started dealing with the Modi government in an unpredictable and arm-twisting manner. Previously India was paying 2-3 per cent tariff. Now we are being pulverised under the tariff regime. At present we are burdened with 18 per cent tariff. India has been commanded to stop cheap oil imports from Russia. Besides this, Trump has announced that India will import oil from Venezuela, which is suffering under the burden of regime change, shamelessly imposed by the Trump administration.
PM Modi is under extreme pressure from Trump. Trump has hanged a sword on Modi’s head in the form of a civil case and a criminal case against Adani, the most powerful business tycoon of India and a bosom friend of Modi. The so-called win-win trade deal imposed by the reckless Trump administration has also ordered $5 billion worth imports from the USA in the next 5 years. It includes farm products, dry fruits, apples, soybean oil, etc. It is feared that it will go against the interests of our farming community, which is already under great stress because of the existing anti-farmer policies. Now the US has been allowed to export fresh and processed fruits. Even RSS-linked BharatiyaKisan Sangh (BKS) has sought a clarification from the government about the inherent dangers to Indian farmers. The concerned minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan briefly answered that “all our crops are safe”.Another weakness in the present trade deal is that it is not yet in its final shape. The true picture will emerge when it takes final shape in mid-March 2026.
The Opposition parties have raised several questions and made many objections. Business communities may be able to give their final response when the final draft is announced in March 2026. The tragedy with the present Indian dispensation is that it is working under back-breaking American pressure. America is a country which is working not as a democratic country but as an out and out capitalistic regime which thinks and acts as a selfish, profit-hungry and arrogant country. If our government surrenders to this US regime and acts like a spineless, frightened government, the portents ahead would be dangerous and fearsome. Our salvation lies in taking all concerned stakeholders in confidence and acting with caution, confidence and self-respect.
If we fail at this critical juncture, it would be the end of our freedom and a dangerous fall from grace and a recipe for economic enslavement. The suffering people would not remain silent and this would lead to violence.