A former Member of India’s National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) says President Donald Trump turned against India because Prime Minister Modi didn’t back the US President’s version of events during Operation Sindoor. 

“The fact is that this man (Trump) essentially found Modi to have opposed his interpretation of what he did, meaning what Trump did during Operation Sindoor. He claims that he brought the whole thing to a close and therefore he should get a Nobel Prize for preventing a nuclear tussle between India and Pakistan, which, of course, is a complete fabrication and nonsense. Everybody knows it,” Karnad said. 

In an exclusive interview with Sandeep Unnithan, Editor-in-Chief, Chakra Newz Karnad, a former member NSAB (National Security Advisor Board), said that the decline in India-US relations was predictable. 

“There's nothing, it's not a surprise to those who have known how Trump works, or at least who have intuited how Trump works. He's basically an autocratic narcissist. What does that mean? He likes to put down people and entities, including nations, when, especially, to have them do their bidding because, and I think it's a very personal thing for him.”

Trump doesn't know geopolitics or geostrategy. He's a complete illiterate. He's illiterate. As many politicians tend to be. It's not necessarily just Trump.

“This is how he has been, in a sense, inflating his own role and reputation for international relations and interstate affairs for a very long time. From the first term and now the second term. It is because the government of India stood up and said, No, this is not how it happened. America is not your langotia yaar, that's going to help you out. They don't and they won't unless their interests are served.”

Bharat Karnad mentioned that Trump favours China more than India. Karnad welcomed the ongoing India-US trade war. “It’s a very good thing that this has happened. It'll make us, it'll compel us to be more atmanirbhar in a genuine way.” 

Karnad emphasised India made its own weapons in times of technology denial.  “When right now Americans are sitting pretty, they say, ‘Where are you going to go for your Tejas engine, GE414? Well, there is a way out if you let the mission make it a national task force. The same thing was said about missiles, didn't they? Right and the nuclear weapons. What did we do? We went against the world, against the pressure, the sanctions, and we produced our nuclear weapons. We produced our missiles. The Agni 5 is perhaps one of the most accurate missiles anywhere in the world. RCEP, the Circular Error Probable. I won't tell you what it is, pretty damn good at range. Why do you think China is? Do you think they're unaware of Agni 5? They are monitoring all our tests.”

Karanad also flagged the IAF’s short-sightedness and mentioned how the service had rejected the TU-22 strategic bomber being offered by the Soviet Union. 

The Indian military was Pakistan-focused, and that was a mistake, he said. 

“Pakistan is of no consequence if you build up your comprehensive capabilities to deal with China. Pakistan automatically dealt with. You know, if you know that's what I keep saying, right? You build up against a bigger threat, and the lesser threat you can automatically take care of. 

Watch full episode here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IHd-NpMUXA

Arjun Dev Singh

Arjun Dev Singh has a deep interest in defence, security, and strategic affairs. With a strong analytical lens and a passion for military and geopolitical developments, Arjun strives to bring clarity and context to complex national and international issues.