Announced at Zero Hour GMT, the third round of strikes on Iran has begun, setting the Gulf on fire and the world in a tizzy, again.
Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to the United States. We will never know who fired the first shot, and other compulsions, but death and destruction have resumed, officially, full-scale.
Indeed, it had not really stopped when Iran was mourning its supreme leader, who was among the national leaders eliminated in February.
Or, during the US’s 250th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the United States on July 4. The rhetoric, with a clenched fist, began two days later.
With “1,000 missiles locked and loaded,” President Donald Trump threatened to “decimate and destroy all areas of Iran” if Iranians attempt to assassinate him.
The intelligence tip-off about the alleged attempt came, you guessed it right, from Israel.
For a thoughtful relief this Sunday, let us look back on the July 4 celebrations and see how India, among America’s allies, living in a fractured, conflict-ridden world, responded to the landmark event.
Taking India’s official observance first, it was diplomatically warm but deliberately restrained.
There were no ‘national’ celebrations in the largest democracy over a landmark event in a country that provided inspiration and support during the freedom struggle against the British and is now home to 4.5 million diasporas, chasing their “American dream” and playing a significant role in this country of their choice.
Unlike some close US allies such as Britain, France, Australia and Japan, which marked the occasion in different symbolic ways, with high-profile commemorative events or landmark illuminations, India chose a relatively understated approach. It limited itself primarily to official messages and diplomatic engagement.
At the public level, however, the intelligentsia wrote and spoke freely, not necessarily adopting the official line. The mainstream media made differing editorial comments, and social media was largely critical. But by and large, they all drew a line between America, the nation, and President Donald Trump and his administration.
Indeed, Mr Trump’s mercurial ways and a growing perception that the US is realigning its Asia policy and moving away coloured the Indian public mood. Whatever the official stance, India sees itself as a target in the as-yet-unresolved tariff disputes and a ‘victim’ in the ongoing Gulf and Ukraine conflicts, often accused of not serving the American/Western standpoints.
The centrepiece of India’s observance was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to Trump, the head of state, but as much to the American people. “On behalf of 1.4 billion Indians, I extend my warmest congratulations to President Trump and the people of the United States on the historic 250th anniversary of your Independence.”
He added that the two nations shared more than a strategic partnership; the relationship rests on democracy, the rule of law, and faith in the potential of their peoples. He stressed shared institutions and long-term strategic cooperation rather than any military or ideological themes.
Modi hoped the next 250 years would bring prosperity, peace, progress, and take the India-U.S. partnership “to new heights.”
Showing respect without symbolism, New Delhi appeared to convey genuine goodwill, respect for America’s historic milestone event and confidence in bilateral ties.
The message was noteworthy in that it reveals India’s priorities, including consolidating people-to-people ties and friendship as “a force for global good.”
The anniversary came amid ongoing negotiations on trade, technology, defence cooperation, and supply chains. But India did not highlight issues such as China, Indo-Pacific strategy or terrorism on which differences have emerged, in perception, if not in action.
India is sore at the growing US-Pakistan proximity, yet again and probably transactional as in the past. It dislikes being hyphenated with the neighbour. And it is uncomfortable at the prospect of a Trump-led America getting cosy with China.
But since the US is India’s largest strategic and economic partner outside Asia. Modi’s message reaffirmed continuity in bilateral ties despite political changes in Washington and the latter’s changing geopolitical and geostrategic priorities.
Commemoration by a global power provides an occasion for triumphalism. Given Mr Trump’s style of governance and engaging with the world, he did not disappoint his friends and critics on this score. Hence, wisely, India’s greetings mirrored a broader international trend. It joined many US allies who sought to preserve institutional ties with Washington while expressing concern about the style and substance of Trump’s second-term policies.
The restrained nature of India’s observance reflected not a decline in the importance of the United States, but a decline in confidence in the predictability of the Trump administration.
In sum, the Modi government appears to have distinguished between America as a strategic partner and Trump as a negotiating counterpart. The first continued to merit warmth; the second required caution – extreme caution – given his changing priorities and goal-posts. He knows India cannot afford to be scalded by the fury of his ‘friend’ whose worldview is constructed by business transactions, through his favourite word – ‘deal’.
That distinction also helps explain why India’s official rhetoric continued to emphasise shared democratic values and long-term partnership even as trade disputes and tariff threats dominated day-to-day diplomacy.
Mahendra Ved is a veteran Journalist and an Expert on international affairs.
