"We are in Zelenskyy’s shoes now", read a recent headline in a major Indian newspaper. There are similar concerns being raised in other world capitals in Asia and Europe after President Donald Trump's decisions to cut military supplies and stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine following a White House summit with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine who is facing the military might of Russia on the battlefield in Europe.
 |
| From L to R: Putin, Trump, Xi and Modi |
“My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” said Friedrich Merz, Germany's chancellor-elect. Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the US has “changed from liberator to great disruptor to a landlord seeking rent”.
The events of last week have revived the memory of a quote attributed to former US Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger who is reported to have said: "The word will go out to the nations of the world that it may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."
New Delhi has been counting on Washington's help to fend off hostile China which sits on its doorsteps. There are some Indians who believe Russia would come to India's help in the event of war with China. But former US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan threw cold water on this idea when he said: "In fact, it (Russia) is becoming the junior partner to China. And in that way, they would side with China over India any day of the week".
Trump has fundamentally changed the geopolitics of Asia and Europe. Old alliances no longer matter. Now it's all about each transaction which Trump wants to ensure favors the United States.
During the last Trump Administration in 2019, India's friends in Washington argued for a US policy of "strategic altruism" with India. The new Trump administration seems to be rejecting such talk. Prior to his recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House, President Donald Trump described India as the "worst abuser of tariffs" and announced "reciprocal tariffs" on Indian imports to the United States. At the same time, Mr. Trump cracked down on both legal and illegal immigration from India. His administration is deporting thousands of illegal Indian immigrants in handcuffs and shackles on US military aircraft. Meanwhile, stringent new regulations on temporary work visas could significantly delay visa processing times and reduce the number of Indian workers employed in the United States on H1B visas.
 |
| Tariffs Comparison. Source: BBC |
In a 2019 piece titled "The India Dividend: New Delhi Remains Washington’s Best Hope in Asia" published in Foreign Affairs journal, authors Robert Blackwill and Ashley Tellis argued that the Trump Administration should continue the US policy of "strategic altruism" with India that began with US-India nuclear agreement. They asked President Trump to ignore the fact that the US companies and economy have only marginally benefited, if at all, from this policy. They see India as a "superpower in waiting" and urge Washington to focus on the goal of having India as an ally to check China's rise. They see Chinese support for India's arch-rival Pakistan and China’s growing weight in South Asia and beyond as a threat to India.
 |
| India Tops Source Countries For H1B Visa Holders. Source: USCIS |
Trump's trade and immigration policies are going to hurt India at a time when its economic growth is declining and job growth is stagnant. The latest Indian annual budget has offered middle class tax relief to spur growth. But economists warn it may not be enough for the vast majority of Indians, whose income still falls below taxable limits and who may still be reeling from the impact of the COVID pandemic, which devastated their earnings, according to a report in Aljazeera. “There is a vast base [of people] where recovery has not come back after the pandemic,” says Kaushik Basu, professor of economics at Cornell University. “We see this in data that the agricultural labour base has increased. And agriculture may well be just a parking spot.”
Illegal immigration from India to the US has dramatically increased on Prime Minister Modi's watch. A Pew Research Center report said that as of 2022, India ranked third, after Mexico and El Salvador, on the list of countries with the largest number of undocumented immigrants — 725,000 — living in the U.S.
India has a serious unemployment problem, particularly for the young people entering the job market by the millions each year. This problem is concealed by headline economic growth figures highlighted by the Modi government. At the same time, India is losing its best and brightest in a massive brain drain.
President Trump has clearly not taken the advice of India's friends in Washington. He is in no mood for "strategic altruism". Instead, the Trump Administration has signaled that it will treat ties with India as just another transactional relationship.
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
South Asia Investor Review
Guess Why Pakistani Analyst Uzair Younus is Making Headlines in India!
Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani: America Does Not Respect India
World Happiness Report: India Among Saddest Nations of the World
Indian-American Ashley Tellis Advocates For US Strategic Altruism with India
WB Poverty Update: India Biggest Contributor to Increase in Poverty
India in Crisis: Unemployment, Hunger Persist After Waves of Covid
Modi's Blunders and Delusions
India's Israel Envy: What If Modi Attacks Pakistan?
Project Azm: Pakistan to Develop 5th Generation Fighter Jet
Pakistan Navy Modernization
Pakistan's Sea-Based Second Strike Capability
Are Some Pakistanis Feeding Modi's Delusions of Grandeur?
Is the West Unwittingly Helping Modi Realize His Akhand Bharat Hindutva Dream?
38 comments:
Both America and India safeguard their national interests. If America takes any actions, India can
always take counter actions. India has imposed a 150% tariff on American Alcohol and 100% on
Agricultural products yesterday. China, Canada and European countries are also taking counter
measures. Gone are the days of unilateral dictation by any single power. India also has options
and will safeguard its interests. Only those nations should be worried who are dependent on
American charities and handouts for daily survival.
In 2024, China surpassed the United States to become India's top trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $118.4 billion, while India's trade with the US was $118.3 billion. This was fueled by increased Indian exports to China, particularly in sectors like iron ore, cotton yarn, and spices, alongside significant Chinese exports to India, including electronics and machinery.
Chinese threat perception for India is an American narrative, which not even Indians believed in.
Perhaps it's only a diminishing segment of Americans who still believe so.
Why India hates China?
https://www.tiktok.com/@mynft8/video/7479181146639650070?_r=1&_t=ZT-8ubxC4N6YpC
SH: "In 2024, China surpassed the United States to become India's top trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $118.4 billion, while India's trade with the US was $118.3 billion."
India imports a lot more from China than it exports to China.
Hence huge trade deficits.
India's trade deficit with China widened in 2023-24 to $85 billion, according to the Hindu.
India relies on Chinese imports for parts and ingredients of products it exports to the West.
For example, iPhones assembled in India get the vast majority of components and expertise from China.
Similarly, India's pharmaceutical industry gets almost all of its active ingredients (APIs) from China.
Indian Americans worried over US ties under Trump, survey reveals
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2g4g9qp2no
Indian Americans are increasingly optimistic about India's future, but hold deep concerns about US-India relations under a second Donald Trump administration, a new survey finds.
The 2024 Indian-American Survey, conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and YouGov in October, examined Indian-American political attitudes.
Two pivotal elections happened in India and the US last year, amid a deepening - but occasionally strained - partnership. Tensions between the countries flared over a US federal indictment of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and allegations of a Delhi-backed assassination plot on American soil.
With more than five million Indian-origin residents in the US, the survey asked some key questions: How do Indian Americans view former president Joe Biden's handling of US-India ties? Do they see Donald Trump as a better option? And how do they assess India's trajectory post the 2024 election?
Here are some key takeaways from the report, which was based on a nationally representative online survey of 1,206 Indian-American adult residents.
Indian Americans rated the Biden administration's handling of US-India relations more favourably than Trump's first term.
A hypothetical Kamala Harris administration was seen as better for bilateral ties than a second Trump term during the polling.
Partisan polarisation plays a key role: 66% of Indian-American Republicans believe Trump was better for US-India ties, while just 8% of Democrats agree.
Conversely, half of Indian-American Democrats favour Biden, compared to 15% of Republicans.
Since most Indian Americans are Democrats, this gives Biden the overall edge.
During their February meeting at the White House, both Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised each other's leadership, but Trump criticised India's high trade tariffs, calling them a "big problem."
'Murder-for-hire' controversy
The alleged Indian plot to assassinate a separatist on US soil has not widely registered - only half of respondents are aware of it.
In October, the US charged a former Indian intelligence officer with attempted murder and money laundering for allegedly plotting to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US-based advocate for an independent Sikh state, Khalistan.
This marked the first time the Indian government has been directly implicated in an alleged assassination attempt on a dissident. India has stated it is co-operating with the US investigation. In January, a panel set up by India to examine Washington's allegations recommended legal action against an unnamed individual believed to be the former intelligence agent.
A narrow majority of the respondents said that India would "not be justified in taking such action and hold identical feelings about the US if the positions were reversed".
Israel and the Palestinians
Indian Americans are split along partisan party lines, with Democrats expressing greater empathy for Palestinians and Republicans leaning pro-Israel.
Four in 10 respondents believe Biden has been too pro-Israel in the ongoing conflict.
The attack in October 2023 by Hamas fighters from Gaza killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, inside Israel and saw 251 people taken hostage. Most have been released in ceasefire agreements or other arrangements.
Israel's military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Talks to prolong the fragile ceasefire, the first phase of which ended on 1 March, are expected to resume in Qatar on Monday.
Americans also realized that India was the reason it got itself into trouble with Vietnam. May be payback time for India?
https://www.unz.com/article/the-causes-of-the-vietnam-war/
- "New Delhi has been counting on Washington's help to fend off hostile China which sits on its doorsteps.. There are some Indians who believe Russia would come to India's help in the event of war with China."
There is an important difference between India and Ukraine to be noted in this context. Ukraine has been fighting against Russia with American weapons bought with American money. In other words, American tax payers have been footing the bill for the Ukraine war. And that's what induced Trump to say enough is enough. On the other hand, India buys American weapons with its own money. No aid, no discounts. Which is also why Trump offered to sell F-35 to India even as he cut off military supplies to Ukraine. American taxpayers aren't footing the bill for India's military purchases. Same goes for other areas of US-India strategic cooperation - like agreements to share logistical facilities, intelligence etc. Everything is quid pro quo. India hasn't been counting on any military aid or "strategic altruism" from anyone, be they Americans or Russians.
- "In fact, it (Russia) is becoming the junior partner to China. And in that way, they would side with China over India any day of the week"
The only reason Russia was increasingly becoming a junior partner to China (against Putin's own desire for strategic independence) was the economic burden of the Ukraine war and US sanctions. With Trump's somersault in Russia-Ukraine war and his desire to normalize relations with Russia and ease sanctions, Russia would have room to act more independently.
Mantou,
"Americans also realized that India was the reason it got itself into trouble with Vietnam. May be payback time for India?"
Not sure if they remember Vietnam, but the Americans would surely remember who played a double-game and back-stabbed them in Afghanistan. :)
I have no idea who this "Sidney James" who wrote that article is, the amount of idiocy in it is so mind-boggling which makes me wonder if he knows even as much history as a primary school student.
- "With the introduction of a written language by the Muslims, the subcontinent finally had a recorded history. The Hindi script had yet to be invented by the British."
"Hindi" script (meaning Devanagari?) were invented by the British? Has the writer any idea of the ancient Brahmi script and how it spawned the Indic scripts you see in subcontinent's myriad of languages? Has he heard of pre-Islamic Indian empires like the Mauryas and Guptas and the scripts used in Emperor Ashoka's rock edicts? Even many East and South-East Asian languages like Tibetan, Burmese, Thai, Cambodian, Lao and Balinese are written in scripts derived from Brahmi and so were Javanese and Malaya in the past.
- "The Mughal Empire was the first foreign ruler in the subcontinent."
Kushanas and the empire of Kanishka? Even among Muslim dynasties it wasn't the Mughals were the first "foreign rulers" in subcontinent, but the Delhi Sultanate. Babar defeated the last ruler of Delhi Sultanate - Ibrahim Lodhi - in the first battle of Panipat to found the Mughal Empire.
- "British largesse meant that, for the first time in the history of the subcontinent, its people were put in charge of an economy that was, by far, the most developed outside the Western sphere."
India was an impoverished nation at the time of independence. European travellers who visited India before the colonial rule reported seeing a country of immense wealth, but by the time British left its wealth and resources had all been looted. Britain became a global power with its Indian colony. Without India, Britain has been reduced to an inconsequential island once again.
The rest of the article was predictably nonsense and wasn't worth a read.
"India was an impoverished nation at the time of independence. European travellers who visited India before the colonial rule reported seeing a country of immense wealth, but by the time British left its wealth and resources had all been looted. "
If the British didn't colonize the subcontinent there would be no India. India owns its existence to the British. Who built the railways and the infrastructures? How many years do you think India needs to rebuild their country to be as wealthy as you describe? 100 years? 200 years? The truth is India has been slowly degenerating over the last seventy plus years. Jayant Bandari, an Indian himself who travels to India often, predicted India would eventually cease to exist. In other words, back to its natural state.
Salam Sir
Thanks for sharing this the question is that on what basis do these over confident and over snobby Indians who visit the news pages of Pakistan on Facebook and on YouTube channels of Pakistan brag so much about their economic growth and try to underestimate the economy of Pakistan ?
The GDP of India which is higher than the GDP of Pakistan, is it because of the products and goods that they export to other countries or is it high because of the products and goods it imports from other countries specially from China as you mentioned because of which their GDP is much higher than that of Pakistan?
Doesn't the consumption of goods and services within the country and the sales and purchase of goods by people within the country also adds to the GDP growth of the country?
Dear Sir
I saw a video on YouTube in which President Trump said that " INDIA IS THE BIGGEST ABUSER" and I think he was criticising India for imposing high tariffs or duties over the American products that India imports.
Also recently when PM Modi visited America, no high official from President Trump administration came to receive him at the airport and even when he came to white house in the officers car provided by American governnent, President Trump didn't stand outside the main door of the white house to welcome and receive him.
President Trump remained inside of the White House to recieve him.
Mantou,
The "India" I referred above includes not just the modern Republic of India, but also present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh. The boundaries that were created in 1947 were artificial as religion was chosen as the criterion for division rather than ethnicity or language. People of Pakistani Punjab and Indian Punjab share the same ethnicity and language and so does the peoples of West Bengal and Bangladesh.
British rule gave the region the European idea of a nation-state and they also introduced a modern, westernized education system, railways and a modern administrative system. But the price that this land and its peoples had to pay for all this was the systematic looting of its wealth and exploitation of its resources for the benefit of Britain which left it impoverished.
I wouldn't have minded the old "India" (including Pakistan and Bangladesh) remaining as a loose association of smaller countries with "natural" boundaries of ethnicity and language with close cultural and trade links and free travel. "India" and "Indian" in that sense would have been akin to the idea of "Europe", where despite the many differences in language, ethnicity and "nationality" there is a shared cultural concept of being "European".
Finally, before being carried away by your "predictions" of India ceasing to exist, please take a look at what is going on in Pakistan at the moment.
This notion of "systematic looting of its wealth and exploitation of its resources for the benefit of Britain which left it impoverished." does not stand up to scrutiny. The British left Rhodesia in good form, South Africa in 1993 was a first-world country, and the British built Hong Kong into a prosperous trading hub. None of these places were looted but instead, prosper under colonial rule. In 1947 India was the most industrialized economy in the whole of Asia. The failure of today's India is wholly India's own fault. India was handed a golden opportunity to build on British success in 1947 but blew it and now shifting the blame to the British. Rich.
You are living in a fantasy. None of India's neighbors want to be part of India. I can list many reasons, but I am sure you already know.
Hello Mr. Mantou
Thanks for your reply, agree Dubai is another example, most of the infrastructure that we see in Dubai ,the engineers and architects behind this development of Dubai were actually foreigners specially British.
How Europe’s Military Stacks Up Against Russia Without U.S. Support
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/europe-military-compared-russia-without-us-1ccd751b
Last month roughly 10,000 NATO troops carried out drills just miles from Ukraine’s border to test a new quick-reaction force created after Russia’s large-scale invasion of its neighbor. The show of military muscle was unusual for who was absent: the U.S.
That is leading some to ask a once-unthinkable question: If trans-Atlantic ties deteriorate further, could Europe be forced to defend itself against Russia without U.S. support? American military brass and officials who have served across the Atlantic say Europe would pack a strong punch in such a scenario.
Europe lacks important air-defense and intelligence capabilities, but its militaries together constitute a massive air force, giant navy and formidable army. Those land forces, which shriveled after the Cold War, are now gradually rebuilding and adding advanced equipment.
A fight would be deadly and hugely destructive—as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown—and raise the risk of nuclear war. But in conventional combat, say strategists, Russia would struggle against Europe.
Now people in and around the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are wondering whether Europeans could handle more than just an exercise on their own. America’s commitment to NATO security guarantees is suddenly in doubt, even after the U.S. reinstated military support for Ukraine this week after Kyiv accepted a cease-fire and Moscow signaled it is in no hurry to end hostilities. American diplomatic outreach to Russia and the Trump administration’s frostiness toward Europe raise worries.
-------------------
Now Europeans are pondering what collective defense might look like without the U.S. A starting point could be NATO’s own battle plans, which are adaptable to varying force levels, alliance officials say.
The elaborate, flexible and detailed plans are classified. Still, NATO’s fundamental approach today, as during the Cold War, is to employ forces available in Europe to hold off Russian attackers until reinforcements arrive from the U.S.
Europe could still use NATO blueprints as a basis for its own defensive plans, even if they have gaps. Developing capabilities that could alleviate shortfalls if Washington declined to join a conflict is an undertaking that would balloon Europe’s bill for military modernization.
“You have to use the best tools available,” said Spatafora at the EU institute. “NATO’s plans are a good model because components of national armies are being put together for that.”
Mantou,
I do not know if you are a Pakistani, Chinese or someone else. If you are a Pakistani or Bangladeshi with even an iota of awareness about your country's history (and its present circumstances) you would know that your country was part of the same "India" until 1947 and is now doing worse politically and economically than the modern Republic of India. On the other hand, if you are Chinese or of some other nationality, I would advise you to read a primer on the subcontinent's history and the effects of colonial rule on its economy. There are plenty of online sources on the subject written by reputed economists and historians (and not by dubious authors like "Sidney James" or pseudo-intellectuals or investment consultants like Jayant Bhandari). You could also look for Youtube videos of Shashi Tharoor's talk on the subject at Oxford.
(Also, comparing British rule in India with that of much smaller countries or territories like Rhodesia, South Africa, Malaysia or Hong Kong is absurd.)
Though the British left "India" with a working administrative system and railways, the country had little in terms of industries and its agricultural sector had been left in a bad shape. Famines were rampant as the British had taken away India's grains for the war effort. (Read about the great Bengal famine of 1943.) As a result, the task fell on the govt of newly independent country to achieve self-sufficiency in food production and establish heavy industries, dams and power plants.
Take a look at the graph in the following article to understand the share of India in the world's GDP over the centuries. The sharp fall in India's share after it was colonised by the British is evident.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1_AD_to_2003_AD_Historical_Trends_in_global_distribution_of_GDP_China_India_Western_Europe_USA_Middle_East.png
You can also see how India's and China's economies were at similar levels from the beginning of the 20th century until the 1970s, when Deng Xiaoping launched reforms that opened up China's economy to Western investment. India took another 20 years to abandon its "license raj" socialism and start its own economic liberalization, and the pace of its own reforms have been slower than China's due to the effects of change in governments, political tussles, protests and litigations that is the hallmark of any large democracy.
And finally, who says any of India's neighbours "should" like to be part of India? Are the neighbours of Pakistan or China queueing up to be part of those countries? Do Taiwanese want to rejoin mainland China under communist rule? Why would any country having freedom and sovereignity sacrifice those to join another? Speak some sense, sir.
Vineeth,
You are living in delusion. There is no sign that India is going anywhere. In fact, there is every indication that India is breaking up. Increasingly, the South doesn't want anything to do with the North.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1N7Sr-HUBU
13 of World’s 20 Most Polluted Cities Are in India!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB0pCCZegaU
Once the South breaks free, Khalistan and Kashmir will be next followed by the Northeast.
Nobody anticipates the Soviet Union break up until it happens. India will be the same.
Breaking up is actually better for everybody. India is almost eighty years old now and it is not working.
Mantou,
It is you who is being delusional, sir. You are not even Indian and think you know this large and diverse country intimately after watching a couple of Youtube videos made by somebody? Its laughably absurd. I live in a southern Indian state - Kerala. The southern states may have linguistic and cultural differences with north. But no one here is talking about breaking away. Large numbers of south Indians live and work in northern states and vice versa. Most of the labourers one sees in Kerala these days hail from West Bengal and Assam. India's disintegration was predicted by many in 1947. 75 years later the country is still in one piece and is no closer to a break up. Forget the south - there are no separatist insurgencies here. Even Kashmir, Punjab and NE states that had armed insurgencies did not come anywhere close to breaking away. The Khalistani insurgency in Punjab is snuffed out. There is zero support for it in Indian Punjab. Sikhs continue to serve in huge numbers in Indian military. Militancy in Kashmir has been largely contained and reports of attacks on security forces are few these days.
On the other hand, what do you see happening in Balochistan and KP? I am seeing daily reports of bombings in mosques, attacks on military posts, and now we have militants attaempting to hijack a train! In case you did not know, Pakistan ranked second in Global Terrorism Index below Burkina Faso.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1896075/pakistan-rises-to-second-in-global-terrorism-index
- "13 of World’s 20 Most Polluted Cities Are in India!"
Yes. But Pakistan ranked worse than India at country level. Pakistan was third in the list of most polluted countries, ranking below Chad and Bangladesh.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1897218
- "Nobody anticipates the Soviet Union break up until it happens. India will be the same."
Soviet Union was a totalitarian dictatorship. Once Gorbachev's political reforms gave the Soviet nationalities their voice, they chose to break away. Same goes for Yugoslavia. India on the other hand has been a functioning democracy from 1947. Elections happen regularly and have been acting as a pressure valve for social tensions. Therefore there is almost zero chance of country breaking apart like Soviet Union did. You may keep fantasizing nonsense if that gives you pleasure.
- "Breaking up is actually better for everybody. India is almost eighty years old now and it is not working."
It is upto Indians to decide whether their country is working or not, and whether it is better to break up and go their independent ways. Rest assured that at the moment we have no such thoughts. Despite our occassional domestic squabbles and petty disputes, we know we are stronger together.
"It is up to Indians to decide whether their country is working or not, and whether it is better to break up and go their independent ways. Rest assured that at the moment we have no such thoughts."
You cannot represent 1.4 billion Indians. I am sure you are a proud Indian. But many are getting fed up and want nothing to do with India, which is becoming a laughingstock among the people in the world. The two YouTube channels "Unpaid Insight" and "Info Safari" have thousands of subscribers and are growing by the day. A lot of commenters are from the South and have expressed resentment against the North and want to divorce from India. An idea may not gain widespread acceptance initially but if the conditions are ripe will rapidly spread like wildfire. Nobody likes to associate something synonymous with filth, poor, dysfunction, backwardness, and uncivilized. But this is exactly what India represents. Many proud Indians are not proud anymore. You will eventually too.
Vineeth,
By the way have you seen this video which is spreading like wildfire on the internet?
India-The-Worst-Country-On-Earth
Please don't tell me the footages are not true because I know they are.
Mantou,
I don't waste my time watching trashy, sensationalist or propagandist videos in the internet. I have better ways to utilize my time. Anybody can create a montage of selected videos clips taken from any country to make it look good or bad. It doesn't mean anything. Just because you do not choose to watch any videos that shows a particular country in a positive light does not mean the said country itself is bad. If you are only going to look for negative news or videos about a particular country or community, that's all you will ever see. It is more of a reflection of your own mindset than anything else.
Vineeth,
Acknowledging reality is the first step to improving your country and fixing the problems. If you do not even do that, how is India going to improve? What you are saying is escapism. This may be the reason India is in such a dire shape. Close your eyes to the unpleasant things and boom it does not exist.
India is not the only country colonized by the British. Most of the global south were. Kenya was also a British colony. Look how far they have progressed.
This is Kenya
Indians should learn from the Kenyans.
Hello Mr. Mantou
Thanks for your post, yes agree, pls note that when British were ruling over India, many jobs in military and government services were produced in India and majority of the people who were hired as soldiers and as officials in government services were local Indians.
It is a different story that majority of the people who were hired at government and military services were Hindus because they were much more qualified in the education system as compared to muslims of India who were depressed and upset over the rule of British because previously Muslims were ruling over Indian sub continent and they lost their glory to the British after when they replaced Muslims as a ruling elite of Indian sub continent.
Most of the agricultural lands and businesses in India at that time were owned and controlled by Hindus.
So didn't Hindus benefit from British rule?
Even some Muslims who were educated in Western education system benefited from British rule in India.
Who was working in airports and sea ports at that time like luggage and cargo handlers and carriers? They were all local Indians.
Who were working in agricultural sectors of India? It was local Indians who were working their. It is a different story if the local farmers or peasants had to pay high Harris ( taxes) to the British government after when they cultivated the land and produced crops and agricultural products.
Hello Mr. Mantou
Exactly one of the biggest problems with Indians is that they hardly accept their mistakes or flaws and unless and until a person accepts and recognizes the mistakes and flaws, you can't expect him or her to rectify or improve upon it.
I am sorry for this but pls ask all these Indians who blame British for all the mess that India is actually going through that when British ruled over India :
1) How many Muslims and Hindus who had any issues or quarrels with each other had to face injustice in the courts in India?
2) How many women at that time were harrased in various parts of India?
3) How many Muslims and Christians faced discrimination and persecution because of their religion and beliefs?
Hello Mr. Mantou
I am not in favour of everything that happened under British rule in India, obviously it had some serious negative effects on India but overall if we see their was developments, jobs and at least justice to certain extent in India.
Can Indians expect that under the post partition India, every indian citizen irrespective of his financial position, caste or creed will receive prompt justice
?
Hello Mr. mantou
Yes British have ruled even Hong Kong, Hong Kong was initially part of China but Chinese government gave Hong Kong to British for as far as I know on contract of 100 years.
Within span of 100 years when Hong Kong was under British rule, you can see where it reached after 100 years.
It's infrastructure, buildings and institutions.
Mr. Mantou
I am not a fan of British rule but still if you see they still did some favours to locals where they ruled.
Aligarh university which was built in Aligarh city was a initiative taken by British government upon the persuasion of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan who knew that future of Indian Muslims will reach dead end if they don't focus on modern and western education and we see that in the future the main movement for a separate homeland for Muslims of India called " PAKISTAN " actually started from Aligarh university where more than 5000 Muslim students were enrolled.
Mr. mantou
Pls read the statement of winstine churchil who was the politician of England when British ruled India and later I think he became PM of England.
Just see how he talked bad about Indian politicians ( excluding Muhammad Ali Jinnah).
He criticised the Indian politicians for having sweet tongue but silly hearts.
He also called Indian politicians as rascals and goons and India is going on the hands of these notorious Indian politicians.
Mantou,
I live in India and I am well aware what its faults and failings are. I don't really need anyone else to tell me that. Why do you even compare India with distant and small British colonies with very different cultures and histories? Kenya's population is only 52 million while India's is over 1400 million! Kenya has only one native official language - Swahili - besides English, while India has 22! India is a large and diverse nation and its challenges are equally complex. What one may say about one part of India may not apply to another. Different states in India have developed at different rates. In fact, I live in a southern Indian state with a population of 34 million (two-thirds of whole of Kenya's population) and which has a literacy of 96% (higher than Kenya's 82%), average life expectancy of 77 (higher than Kenya's 62), a human development index of 0.784 (higher than Kenya's 0.598) etc. Do a comparison of Kenya with Kerala, if you will. Or if you wish to do a fair comparison of India with some other populous or culturally similar former British colony, do it with Pakistan or Bangladesh as that would be a more apples-to-apples comparison.
From competing to beating US in numbers and tonnage, here’s how China built its shipping empire
PLA Navy now fields more warships than US Navy and is on track to deploy 425-ship fleet by 2030, sustained by industrial base capable of replacing, repairing vessels way faster than US yards.
SNEHESH ALEX PHILIP
https://theprint.in/defence/from-competing-to-beating-us-in-numbers-and-tonnage-heres-how-china-built-its-shipping-empire/2546925/
New Delhi: The Indian Navy had plans to become a 200-ship strong force by 2027. But in 2019, it revised its target downwards to 170, citing an acute financial crunch. Contrast this to the Chinese. Over the past two decades, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has grown from a modest coastal force into a regional juggernaut with frigates, destroyers, submarines and aircraft carriers being constructed and commissioned at record speed.
As of 2022, the PLAN was operating a battle force fleet of 351 ships, surpassing the US Navy’s 294.
According to the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), China has already overtaken the US Navy in terms of hull count, and is rapidly closing the gap in fleet tonnage and key technologies like Vertical Launch System (VLS) missile cells. By 2024, China’s surface combatants deployed half the VLS cells of their US counterparts, up from just a quarter in 2019.
This stark growth is compounded by the fact that China’s naval forces are primarily concentrated in the Indo-Pacific, whereas US forces are globally dispersed.
Since 2010, China has dramatically reduced the tonnage gap with the US from roughly 4 million tons to under 1.6 million tons.
China’s emergence as a global shipbuilding powerhouse began with key policy changes that were initiated in the early 2000s. Recognizing that the rapid growth of containerized maritime trade would be a boon for global shipbuilders, Beijing began developing ambitious plans to position Chinese firms at the forefront of the industry. In 2002, Zhu Rongji, China’s premier and chief economic architect at the time, visited the headquarters of CSSC, where he declared that China would seek “to become the largest shipbuilding country by 2015”.
--------
China’s shipbuilding dominance a national security risk for US: Report
https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2025/03/11/chinas-shipbuilding-dominance-a-national-security-risk-for-us-report/
In only two decades, China has grown to be the dominant player in shipbuilding, claiming more than half of the world’s commercial shipbuilding market, while the U.S. share has fallen to just 0.1%, posing serious economic and national security challenges for the U.S. and its allies, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
In 2024 alone, one Chinese shipbuilder constructed more commercial vessels by tonnage than the entire U.S. shipbuilding industry has built since the end of World War II. China already has the world’s largest naval fleet, the Washington-based bipartisan think tank said in its 75-page report.
“The erosion of U.S. and allied shipbuilding capabilities poses an urgent threat to military readiness, reduces economic opportunities, and contributes to China’s global power-projection ambitions,” the report said.
Concerns about the poor state of U.S. shipbuilding have been growing in recent years, as the country faces rising challenges from China, which has the world’s second-largest economy and has ambitions to reshape the world order. At a congressional hearing in December, senior officials and lawmakers urged action.
Last week, President Donald Trump told Congress that his Republican administration would “resurrect” the American shipbuilding industry, for commercial and military vessels, and he would create “a new office of shipbuilding in the White House.”
“We used to make so many ships,” Trump said. “We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge impact.”
India (8.3%) is the second largest importer of arms over the last 5 years (2019-2024). Ukraine (8.8%) is first. Pakistan (4.6%) 4th, according to SIPRI.
India's arms imports mainly from Russia, France and Israel.
Ukraine's from US, Germany and Poland.
Pakistan's from China, Netherlands and Turkey
https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2025/ukraine-worlds-biggest-arms-importer-united-states-dominance-global-arms-exports-grows-russian
https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/top-10-listing/top-10-largest-arms-importing-countries-2020-2024-indias-position-revealed-9880245/
--------------
Chinese arms made up 81 per cent of Pakistan’s weapons imports in the past five years, as Islamabad buys more advanced systems from its long-standing Asian defence partner, according to data from Swedish think tank SIPRI.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3302515/china-supplied-81-pakistans-arms-imports-past-5-years-sipri-says
That was up 7 percentage points from the previous five-year period to 2019, when 74 per cent of Pakistan’s arms imports came from China, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute database shows.
The boost comes amid a huge push in China to improve self-reliance in its defence industry – from aircraft carriers to sixth-generation fighter jets – which has also seen it expand the range of weapons it can offer to its strategic partners.
--------
“The apparent willingness of China to supply or at least talk about supplying some of its more advanced weapons to Pakistan shows China’s trust in Pakistan,” said Siemon Wezeman, a senior arms transfers researcher at SIPRI.
China has been Pakistan’s primary arms supplier since the 1990s. But Pakistan’s tensions with India – especially since a series of border skirmishes broke out in 2016 – have prompted Islamabad to increase defence spending, and that has drawn it closer to Beijing.
Beijing avoids formal alliances but Wezeman said it could be seen as “Pakistan’s only real ‘ally’, the only one to depend on when dealing with India”.
At the same time, Pakistan plays a similar role for Beijing and is “the only one that at this moment could give China a secure access to a base on the Indian Ocean and near the Middle East”.
In April last year, China launched the first of eight Hangor II submarines to be delivered to Pakistan in a deal worth around US$5 billion – one of the most valuable military contracts China has signed.
According to the SIPRI database, some of Pakistan’s key orders in the past five years include the country’s first spy ship, the Rizwan, more than 600 VT-4 battle tanks, and 36 J-10CE 4.5-generation fighters.
The first delivery of multirole J-10CE fighter jets arrived in Pakistan in 2022, adding to its JF-17 fighters – a backbone model that makes up the bulk of Pakistan’s fleet.
The fourth-generation JF-17 was jointly developed by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group in a programme that dates back to 1999.
The Block III version of JF-17 – featuring an active electronically scanned array radar – was inducted by the Pakistan Air Force in 2023.
Song Zhongping, a military commentator and former PLA instructor, said China might also export its fifth-generation fighter jet, the J-35, “if Pakistan requests it”.
He said that since India was considering adding the American F-35 or Russian Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jets to its fleet, Pakistan was likely to be considering its options too.
China also delivered a range of surface-to-air missiles and defence systems to Pakistan between 2020 and 2024, according to SIPRI. They included a long-range HQ-9 system with around 70 missiles, some 200 medium-range LY-80s, and about 890 low-altitude portable FN-6 missiles.
Vineeth,
"I live in India and I am well aware what its faults and failings are."
Good. Now mind your own business. You understand? Forget about all this superpower nonsense. You are lucky if India stays intact in the next thirty years. There are a lot of forces in India trying to break away from India. India has alienated every single one of its neighbors. Not only that the US and Russia have come to the conclusion that this poverty-stricken country is up to no good to them. Do you know what the Americans, Canadians, and Russians think of Indians? Once India shows any signs of instability, it will break apart soon.
Mantou,
Every country has its share of faults and I am honest enough to acknowledge mine. But I still don't get what your problem with India is? Did Indians hurt you or your country in some manner?
- "You are lucky if India stays intact in the next thirty years. There are a lot of forces in India trying to break away from India."
India has stayed intact for the past 75 years, and I'm reasonably sure it will stay in one piece for the next 30 years as well. India has dealt with separatist insurgencies from the time of independence. None came anywhere close to success. Khalistani movement in Indian Punjab is dead. Kashmir militancy seems mostly crushed or severely weakened. Separatist groups in India's north-east signed peace deals with Indian govt. So what "forces" are you talking about here?
- "India has alienated every single one of its neighbors."
That seems pretty much the case about Pakistan, Russia, China and even US these days, I think.
- "Not only that the US and Russia have come to the conclusion that this poverty-stricken country is up to no good to them."
Never heard of it. Did the US and Russian governments tell you that?
- "Do you know what the Americans, Canadians, and Russians think of Indians?"
Did someone do country-wide surveys on what Americans, Canadians and Russians think of Indians? And why should Indians even care? Are Americans and Chinese losing their sleep over what others think about them?
- "Once India shows any signs of instability, it will break apart soon."
For now, you should be more concerned about the chronic political instability, acute economic crisis and rising militant attacks in Pakistan then. India can wait since it isn't showing any signs of similar instability at the moment.
India needn't try to match the Chinese ship-for-ship. (It would be foolish to attempt that in any case since China is a six times larger economy and can afford to spend proportionally more for its defense needs.) PLAN's primary focus would be in the East and South China seas for now where its primary competitor would be USN. India only needs a naval force that is capable enough to act as a deterrance to whatever PLAN and Pakistan Navy deploys in the Indian Ocean region. The primary weakness of Indian Navy has been its submarine fleet, and the Indian govt seems to be investing heavily in modernizing and augmenting that. India has reportedly shelved its plans for a third aircraft carrier for now and is instead concentrating its efforts to phase out its old Russian-origin subs and building a more potent fleet of Scorpene submarines as well as nuclear-powered SSBNs and SSNs.
Chinese builder launches Pakistan Navy's second Hangor-class submarine
https://www.bairdmaritime.com/security/naval/naval-submersibles/chinese-builder-launches-pakistan-navys-second-hangor-class-submarine
The Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group of China has launched the second boat of a new class of diesel-electric attack submarines ordered by the Pakistan Navy.
The future PNS Shushuk ("River dolphin") and another three Hangor-class submarines, including class lead boat PNS Hangor, will be built in China while the remaining four boats will be constructed in Pakistan by Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works.
All eight Hangor-class boats will be variants of the Type 039A or Yuan-class submarines being operated by the People's Liberation Army Navy of China.
Upon completion, the future Shushuk will have a length of 76 metres, a hull diameter of 8.4 metres, a displacement of 2,800 tonnes, air-independent propulsion, and armament consisting of torpedoes, cruise missiles, and anti-ship missiles.
The Hangor-class submarines will be operated on anti-access/area denial operations.
The second Hangor-class submarine is also the second Pakistan Navy submarine to be named Shushuk. The first was a French-built Daphné-class boat that operated under the Pakistani flag from 1970 to 2006.
Mr. Vineeth
I am happy to see some good, sensible and educated Indians like you, unfortunately their are such people in this world who have problem with their own countries and this is not unique to India but it is their in other countries.
Their are such critics who take a negative or pessimist approach towards their countries and high light defects or faults of their country. Their intention could vary depending on exactly what they want? Either they want the problems of their country to resolve, that's why they highlight such issues and problems of their country.
Or their is a possibility that they are rebels of their country always looking for an opportunity or chance to isolate themselves or their community from their country.
Mr. Vineeth
The issue of rising militants and terrorist attacks in Pakistan is not something new, it has also happened in the past and sometimes the Pakistan Army has conducted operations against such millitants and terrorists.
Who is sponsoring and training these terrorist groups in Pakistan, we know and even Pakistan Army possesses some explicit evidences.
Post a Comment