Dasaratha deb, College in Khowai, India

What exactly does Trump want? Is he trying to intimidate India by propping up Pakistan? What the consequences will be? The biggest question at this moment is why has Donald Trump, who used to be a staunch friend of India and who still calls India a friend, become so upset with India that he imposed heavy tariffs and embraced Pakistan as if he has no ties with India at all? We must seek the answer to this question. I’m not talking about bowing down before America, but our diplomacy is facing a serious challenge right now. We need to understand what exactly does Trump want?We Indians didn’t even know that Trump had stopped a war between India and Pakistan but he knew! India didn’t give any importance to his words, yet that didn’t bother him at all. Now look at this: poor Pakistanis didn’t even know they had such an abundant oil reserve that they might someday be capable of selling oil to India. They only came to know after Trump posted on his social media account that Pakistan has a huge oil reserve. He even said that perhaps someday Pakistan will sell oil to India! Pakistanis are struggling with fuel shortages; their oil production recently dropped by 11 per cent. And now, if they’re shown this rosy dream like something out of fantasy that they’ll become oil exporters like the Arab countries, then what do you think will happen? Won’t the whole country go wild?Those who are a bit educated or are aware of petroleum exploration data know the reality. India has a confirmed crude oil reserve of around 560 million barrels, whereas Pakistan’s reserve is only around 23.6 million barrels. The data shows that in February 2025, India produced 6 lakh barrels per day, while Pakistan produced only 68,000 barrels per day. Yes, from time to time, it has been speculated that Pakistan may have a large oil reserve. In 2015, the US Energy Information Administration without any actual exploration estimated, just on analysis, that Pakistan could have around 9 billion barrels of oil reserves. Surprisingly, India’s estimate was put at only 3.8 billion barrels. Even at that time, doubts were raised about America’s intentions. But there wasn’t much uproar since nothing was verified. But the real question is what message is he trying to send? Clearly, Trump is trying to intimidate India. He’s saying that American companies will extract oil from Pakistan and make it rich. Is this how you try to intimidate a country? Did Trump assume that America will be able to sell to India the milk of the cows, whom it gives meat-based feed to keep them healthy, through bullying? Maybe he doesn’t understand India’s culture. No matter which political party is in power here, Trump’s dream can never come true. We don’t drink ‘bloody’ milk! That’s why our government will not bow down. There's a massive cultural difference, sir -- so stop trying to intimidate us!Whose economy is dead?As for calling India’s economy a ‘dead economy’, perhaps the data should be analysed first. India’s economy has grown by 105 per cent over the last 10 years. The IMF estimates that India’s economy will grow at a rate of 6.4 per cent in both 2025 and 2026, while the US economy is expected to grow at only 1.9 per cent in 2025 and 2 per cent in 2026. Moreover, according to the IMF, the global average growth rate is projected to be around 3 per cent. These figures clearly show India’s pace in economic terms. If India weren’t moving at this pace, would it have become the world’s fourth largest economy? And very soon, we’re on track to become the third largest. This is Trump’s real worry that while China is already a challenge, India too is emerging as a future challenger, and that’s troubling for the so-called superpower. That’s why he’s playing dirty. Remember the game ‘langdi maarna’? That childhood game where a mischievous kid tries to trip a runner by sticking out his leg? That’s what Trump is doing. But we’re not going to fall!But the situation must be handled delicately. The United States is a global power and if it openly stands with Pakistan, it could become a cause of concern for us, especially since China is also aligned with Pakistan. Yes, the good thing is that Russia still stands with us. There are efforts to cast an evil eye on this friendship and we must be cautious of that. The circumstances are tough but India has great strength within. We know how to deal with such situations, that’s why we are on the path of progress today. For progress, it is essential that we have more friends and fewer enemies. And what could be a better way to build friendship than through dialogue?

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