Poonam Sharma
The drama of Donald Trump being measured against Rahul Gandhi on the same political scale is, honestly, a joke. But this has nothing to do with personalities — it has to do with the machinery of American politics, and the extremely selfish agendas currently under way to preserve U.S. preeminence in a world no longer inclined to kowtow.
The Core of the Crisis
America’s national income is approximately $30 trillion, while its annual spending is more than $31 trillion. This perpetual deficit isn’t financed by productivity or innovation — it’s financed by printing dollars. And when the hot stoves of dollar presses are running, Washington policymakers seek victims elsewhere. Their latest gadget? Tariffs — protectionist tariffs, to target developing economies disproportionately while sparing their developed friends.
For Trump and his political supporters, this is not about “fixing” America’s economy. It is about selling their troubles to someone else, overthrowing governments which refuse to bend, and pushing upstart powers like India and China back into subordination.
Arms, Allies, and Absurdities
For decades, U.S. economic clout derived from two levers — manufacturing supremacy and arms sales. Eastward, manufacturing has moved; China produces close to 30% of the world’s products against America’s declining proportion. Arms sales are also declining as international demand slumps. Rather than question its economic paradigm, America is doubling down on blackmail economics — using tariffs as a club, slapping up to 245% tariffs on Chinese products, while coercing weaker nations in Africa and Asia into compliance.
In this calculus, India is a particular problem. Under Modi’s Make in India vision, the country is investing heavily in infrastructure, education, and technology — the same formula that propelled China’s rise. This threatens the American monopoly on wealth creation. The U.S. assumption was that India would stay docile. Instead, India has stood firm, refusing to capitulate even as Washington tries to shake its markets.
The Inside Game
Trump’s governance style — circumventing institutional controls, governing through social media, proclaiming emergency-like actions — is not just disorderly; it’s deliberate. Volatility in the markets is no coincidence. His billionaire pals and fund managers frequently are tipped off to policy changes ahead of time, raking in handsome returns on the chaos. This is insider trading masquerading as nationalism.
At the same time, the U.S. makes investment promises to Europe, Japan, South Korea, and others to secure political allegiance. Britain promises billions, then comes the EU, and American coffers overflow — not from fair trade, but from managed worldwide cash flow redirection.
Pakistan as a Pawn
Perhaps the most cynical element of this game is the leveraging of Pakistan against India. By protecting Islamabad from financial responsibility and subtly nudging mischief along India’s borders, Washington is rearming a familiar Cold War strategy: keep neighbors apprehensive so none can concentrate on economic development.
A Familiar Playbook
This is not new. In the Pokhran nuclear tests, India had been sanctioned and diplomatically isolated. But it came out stronger. The difference now is that America’s insecurity is higher — no longer the sole economic superpower, and both India and China are showing they can come up without American patronage.
The Real Danger
The U.S. is careening toward a constitutional and ethical reckoning. Its economic system relies on endless war, global chaos, and a perpetually inflating debt bubble. By not taxing its richest citizens — some of whom fund election campaigns — but hitting the rising world with tariffs instead, America exposes its central creed: save our riches, even if the world goes up in flames.
India’s Path Forward
The solution is not to bow to American pressure, but to redouble economic self-sufficiency, regional cooperation, and technological advancement. India’s task is to transform U.S. belligerence into opportunity — as it did after previous sanctions — to create a more robust, self-reliant economy.
The world is waking up to Washington’s game. America can still print dollars, but it can’t print respect. And in the coming decades, respect — not coercion — will determine who rules the world.
