'Trump is blameless, is it?': India’s ex-diplomat calls out American hypocrisy, lobbies

Former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal has pushed back sharply against attempts to shift blame for deteriorating U.S.–India ties solely onto external lobbies, holding Donald Trump directly accountable for “meddling in Kashmir,” cozying up to Pakistan’s military, and chasing a Nobel Peace Prize at India’s expense.

Responding to U.S.-based venture capitalist Asha Jadeja Motwani—who claimed that “Qatar owns Washington DC” and blamed anti-Hindu, anti-Israel networks within CENTCOM, the State Department, and academia for the rift—Sibal asked bluntly: “Trump is blameless, is it?”

“He is duped by all sorts of lobbies in his country and is compelled to target India?” Sibal wrote on X. “What explains then the very successful visit by Modi in February, the substantive joint statement and progress in the interim trade deal?”

He argued that it was Trump’s own actions—claiming credit for the India–Pakistan ceasefire, publicly courting the Pakistani army chief, and offering to mediate on Kashmir—that triggered the slide. “His obsession for the Nobel Peace Prize, which India has not pandered to—is that Qatar/CENTCOM/leftist lobbies inspired? Really?” Sibal asked.

Motwani had earlier claimed that the attack on India in Washington is powered by “Sunni networks” already fighting Israel, and now targeting “Hindu India.” She warned that unless wealthy Indian billionaires and the diaspora push back, the relationship may not recover.

The exchange comes at a time of shifting alignments. Just days after the U.S. slapped a 50% tariff on Indian goods over continued oil trade with Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin. The two leaders declared India and China “partners, not rivals,” according to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Misri said both sides discussed trade, extremism, and multilateral reform. Modi also invited Xi to the 2026 BRICS summit in India, and confirmed upcoming talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Border disputes were acknowledged but framed as manageable.