“Huglomacy” in tatters? Jairam Ramesh accuses Modi of ‘strategic surrender’ amid Trump’s pro-Pakistan shift

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh launched a blistering critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, characterising the recent shift in American foreign policy as a major failure of Indian diplomacy.

Ramesh’s remarks come in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s “full-throated and categorical support” for Pakistan in its ongoing conflict with Afghanistan, a move the Congress leader claims exposes the fragility of the Prime Minister’s personal diplomatic branding on the global stage.

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“President Trump’s full-throated and categorical support for Pakistan in its war with Afghanistan is another setback for Indian ‘huglomacy,’” Ramesh said, using a satirical term to describe the Prime Minister’s style of personal diplomacy.

He further accused the US President of emboldening Islamabad’s leadership despite its alleged links to regional instability.

“He has once again gone out of his way to praise the individual whose inflammatory remarks provided the backdrop to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, which was allegedly orchestrated by Pakistan,” he added.

The backdrop to the political controversy is last year’s terror strike in Pahalgam, an incident that resulted in significant civilian casualties and pushed India-Pakistan relations to a breaking point.

Highlighting what he described as the US administration’s failure to hold Pakistan accountable for such incidents, Ramesh argued that India’s strategic interests were being sidelined. He also claimed that the diplomatic “hyphenation” of India and Pakistan, a framework New Delhi has long sought to dismantle, has resurfaced under the current US administration.

“Our strategic diplomacy has received repeated setbacks due to President Trump reverting to the hyphenation of India and Pakistan,” Ramesh said.

The criticism extended to the economic sphere, where Ramesh targeted the recently signed India-US trade agreement. Despite the government portraying the deal as a success for “Atmanirbhar Bharat,” the Congress leader described it as “clearly one-sided” and a “surrender” of Indian interests.

“Our economic diplomacy with the US has failed badly,” he said. “Mr Modi has suddenly surrendered to a clearly one-sided trade deal in which India has made firm commitments, particularly to increase imports from American farmers, while the US has offered only vague assurances regarding expanded market access for Indian exports.”

To underline what he termed an imbalance, Ramesh pointed to Washington’s decision to impose a 125.87 per cent import duty on Indian solar modules soon after the agreement was signed.

Questioning India’s negotiating leverage, he suggested that the “Vishwaguru” image projected by the Prime Minister does not reflect prevailing global power realities.

“The Prime Minister may, through his own means, secure awards. But the fact is that the self-declared Vishwaguru has been exposed, and the world, especially the US, has taken his measure,” Ramesh said.

While government officials have consistently defended India-US ties as being rooted in long-term strategic convergence, Ramesh’s remarks underscore growing domestic political debate over the tangible outcomes of the evolving bilateral partnership.