Large sections of Indians are interpreting US President Donald Trump’s invitation to Narendra Modi to be a non-executive member of the so-called ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza as a poisoned chalice.

Even as New Delhi maintains a studied silence, President Trump has already unveiled the Board at Davos despite most of his European allies, UK and France among them, indicating their reluctance to join. Trump has now withdrawn the invitation to Canadian PM Mark Carney. Pakistan is on board. The choice before Modi is getting clearer.

India has been invited to be a non-executive member alongside 60 other heads of government or senior ministers. It is of course still unclear if the non-executive members will have any voting rights or authority to veto, or be just ceremonial or ornamental additions to satisfy Trump’s vanity.

Trump is the self-appointed chairman of the ‘executive board’ which includes former British prime minister Sir Tony Blair, the US secretary of state Marco Rubio, president of the World Bank Ajay Banga, buddy businessmen Steve Witkoff and Marc Rowan, a US national security adviser Robert Gabriel and Trump’s ubiquitous son-in-law Jared Kushner. Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian politician and an erstwhile United Nations Middle East envoy, will represent the board on the ground in Gaza.

Observers have been quick to point out that the Indian PM has been extended a role wherein he will sit beneath not just a long retired prime minister and a foreign minister, but also Banga, an overseas citizen........

© National Herald