From today, the second phase of the Parliament’s budget session is beginning, and the country appears to be entangled in various political turbulences both at the domestic and international levels. Therefore, it is quite natural that there will be intense confrontations between the opposition and the ruling party during the parliamentary sessions. In the Lok Sabha, for instance, after a long debate today on the proposal to remove Speaker Om Birla from his post, a vote was held. Meanwhile, in the Rajya Sabha, the opposition raised questions regarding India’s situation in the context of the ongoing Iran-Israel war in West Asia, attempting to put the government on the defensive.
In this context, the biggest question that arises is about the stance of the United States toward India, since the U.S. is openly supporting Israel and is an active participant in the conflict. Over the past few days, there has been extensive debate across the country regarding India’s sovereignty, because an official statement from the U.S. said that it has given India a 30-day deadline to purchase crude petroleum from Russia. This deadline was given in accordance with the draft terms of a recent trade agreement between India and the U.S., but the reality is that the detailed terms of trade have not yet been finalized, and discussions between the two countries are still ongoing.
The opposition is portraying this as a diplomatic and commercial failure of the Indian government, claiming that this is an unprecedented event in the history of independent India, as another country—America—is determining India’s national interests. Diplomatically, India wants to carefully demonstrate that it is the sole guardian of its national interests and that the U.S. has no authority to make decisions on this matter. In this context, the Modi government’s silence should not be underestimated, because, considering the aggressive diplomacy of U.S. President Donald Trump, India wants to respond quietly through its actions. Government sources indicate that India has continued to purchase crude oil from Russia.
On February 2, a trade agreement between India and the U.S. was announced from Washington, stating that from now on, India would not buy oil from Russia, and if it did, the U.S. would be free to impose an additional 25% duty on the imported goods. The agreement also stated that the U.S. would set up a monitoring committee across its various ministries to ensure that India is not importing oil from Russia. The authenticity of this claim must be verified based on India’s subsequent actions because diplomacy does not always mean responding brick-for-brick; it is about finding the right way to protect one’s interests. This path can also include acting silently. Accordingly, the Modi government continued to purchase crude oil from Russia without engaging in conflict, which should be seen as India’s response to the unilateral U.S. statement.
The second issue concerns a Persian Gulf (Indian Ocean) Iranian warship that was destroyed by a U.S. naval submarine. This warship had participated in a joint naval exercise at Visakhapatnam, India, at India’s invitation and was returning to its country after completing the program. The U.S. destroyed it during the ongoing war against Iran. The warship was in the international waters of the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka. Naturally, this action by the U.S. was condemnable, as the Iran-Israel war had so far not affected the Indian Ocean region. The opposition is trying to use this issue to corner the Modi government, but India responded in its own way by allowing another Iranian warship to dock at Kochi Port, Kerala. The warship had a technical malfunction, and Iran requested India’s permission to allow it to stay in India for repairs. This step taken by India during the ongoing West Asian conflict should not be underestimated.
In fact, diplomacy also follows the principle of safeguarding one’s interests quietly. If India is choosing this path, why should there be an uproar? It is known that because the U.S. is the most powerful country in the world, Donald Trump’s policies have made the United Nations and other international multilateral forums almost irrelevant. Hence, India must navigate its path through these rocky fissures. For the first time since World War II, U.S. policies are causing widespread turmoil globally, and it appears that President Trump may completely alter the world order. Therefore, when debates occur in India’s Parliament, this emerging picture must also be highlighted, because the entire world knows that the war on Iran was imposed while it had already agreed not to enrich uranium for nuclear bomb purposes.
