India was dealt another minor shock by Trump recently, when he announced that the fee on H1B visas would be increased from $1000 to $100,000 per application. Countering Trump’s India stance
This effectively ends the program in its current form.
In the long run, however, it only deals a minor blow on the Indian IT sector – and might even benefit the country as corporations move more jobs to India. India gets about 55,000 of these visas annually, and it is estimated that about a million Indian professionals and their dependents are currently in the US. However, it is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the 15 million undocumented migrants estimated to be in the US. Moreover, the tech unemployment rate of 3% is well below the national unemployment rate of 4.7%. In other words, the H1B visas are just the latest excuse to attack India.
Thus, fighting tariffs, rebutting the latest Trump minion comment, or the latest brouhaha H1Bs is not important. However, rebutting ALL of them in a planned manner – and the narrative against India – is critical. That rebuttal must be led by the Indian democratic national leadership – Prime Minister Modi, Foreign Minister Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Goyal, along with Opposition MP Shashi Tharoor. Countering Trump’s India stance
To move ahead decisively, the entire Indian leadership needs to change its perspective. They need to quickly build a robust social media team to rebut comments as they happen because this fight is not being played on the ancient hotlines between DC or New Delhi but on the Internet. The Indian diaspora must also be engaged in informational discussions to the extent that it is legal.
In this context, we need to be clear: India’s first defeat was in Operation Sindoor, where we destroyed the Pakistani Nur Khan airbase but got obliterated by Pakistan’s far superior propaganda machine. On Ukraine, India has been struggling for two years to explain its position. While Minister Jaishankar has attempted to put forth India’s view, he has much more to do – and needs to respond specifically. He needs to be informed not just by the IAS and IFS Mandarins but also by social media stars and their one-liners.
Let us turn back the clock and see how India could have done better – and improve its game: Countering Trump’s India stance
| Subject | What was said | How India responded | How India should have responded publicly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 | Europe said that India must support Ukraine if it wants Europe’s support in a “future battle” against China. | We cannot accept that Europe’s wars are the world’s concerns but not vice-versa. | Be specific. Ask: “Where were you when we were attacked by China at Galwan in 2020?” |
| Operation Sindoor | Pakistan had regular briefings across all media. | Regular, staid military pronouncements, with no mention of casualties. | “We were testing Pak air defenses, so yes, we lost one (or six or ten) aircraft, and we have 394 others, plus the money to acquire even more. We have no concerns.” |
| Tariffs | “Maharaja of Tariffs”;“Dead economy.” | Few, if any, direct rebuttals. | “India’s average tariffs are 17%, so it is hardly a ‘Maharaja’ of Tariffs. We have already offered to do even better, but the US has moved the goal-posts to Russia. We are the fastest-growing economy and if the US refuses to play ball, we have other choices.” |
| India–China partnership | “We have lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China.” | No comment, but India started discussions on buying jet engines from France’s Safran instead of GE. | “The US got in bed with Pakistan first and betrayed its own 9/11 victims since it was Pakistan that harboured bin Laden.” |
| And last (but not for long): H1B visas | USD 100K fee plus threats of more. | Anodyne public remarks about continuing discussions. | “Sanctions and tariffs are counter-productive. Indian talent has many other job opportunities; and it is the US that will get hurt.” |
| Upcoming endless list:
Curbing student visas, Complaints on India IP protections, and more
|
N/A | “Time for the diaspora to respond.” |
As part of this effort, the Indian government also needs to recognise that this anti-Indian narrative is a poison that can also spread quickly. Anti-India policy decisions can quickly morph into anti-India prejudice. In places like Australia, the saga of Jacinta Price is well-known. What is less well-known, however, is that her campaign continues, and many are projecting her as a Prime Ministerial candidate. Countering Trump’s India stance
The Indian diaspora may be small in number overall but can move the electoral needle in swing US Congressional districts. They are also a major source of funds. They need to organise along these lines. The path won’t be easy but there is no choice for India and the Indian diaspora today. Countering Trump’s India stance
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