Fareed Zakaria on India-US tensions
Senior journalist Fareed Zakaria has cautioned that relations between India and the United States are facing one of their sharpest downturns in decades under the second Trump administration. Speaking on CNN, Zakaria argued that the decision by Washington to penalize New Delhi for its Russian oil purchases while finalizing an oil deal with Pakistan has created a “trust deficit” in India’s political circles.
According to him, this sudden shift could mark a turning point in bilateral ties that have been steadily built over the past 25 years. “Indians believe that America has shown its true colors, its unreliability, and its willingness to be brutal even with its friends,” he said.
A reversal of decades of progress
Zakaria described this moment as one of the biggest foreign policy mistakes of “Trump 2.0.” He emphasized that US outreach to India has historically been bipartisan. From Bill Clinton’s landmark visit in 2000 to George W. Bush’s decision to recognize India as a global power and sign the historic civil nuclear deal, Washington had consistently sought closer ties with New Delhi.
Barack Obama’s pivot to Asia further cemented the relationship, with strong support for India’s bid to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Later, Donald Trump’s first term saw him personally embrace Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while President Joe Biden deepened cooperation in defense and technology, ranging from fighter jet manufacturing to semiconductor production.
However, Zakaria stressed that all this careful progress has been “undone in just a few weeks.”
The India-Pakistan factor
The timing of Washington’s move to strike an oil deal with Pakistan while penalizing India for Russian imports has been viewed in New Delhi as a double standard. This, Zakaria suggested, has amplified India’s concerns about the US being an unreliable partner.
He argued that such policies may push India back towards its older strategy of multi-alignment. “They will understandably feel they need to hedge their bets—stay close to Russia and even make amends with China,” he warned.
This development could potentially slow down India’s growing defense and trade partnerships with the US and instead open space for rival powers.
Zakaria: “Damage is done”
The CNN host concluded that even if the Trump administration attempts a course correction, it may be too late. “The damage is done,” he said, underlining how public perception and strategic trust are difficult to rebuild once broken.
New Delhi, he added, might now reconsider the trajectory of its foreign policy. While India had moved closer to Washington over the last two decades, the trust deficit could drive it to re-engage with Moscow and even explore dialogue with Beijing.
Implications for global diplomacy
Experts note that India’s shift could reshape global alliances at a critical time. The US sees India as a counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific, but a weakened partnership could dilute Washington’s strategy in Asia.
For India, distancing from the US may help preserve its autonomy but could also slow its economic and technological ambitions tied to American cooperation. As Zakaria highlighted, India has long valued nonalignment, but recent years saw it betting on a closer partnership with Washington. That gamble, he suggested, may now be in doubt.