ew people, only a few months ago, may have imagined the state of relations between President Donald Trump of the United States and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India today. Of course, in international relations, there are no permanent allies or enemies, as was famously pointed out by Henry John Temple, the 3rd Viscount Palmerston, also known as Lord Palmerston, who served twice as Britain’s prime minister: “We have no eternal allies,” he had said, “and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”

We are reminded that in international affairs optics are key. In his latest tweet, President Trump has again assailed India: “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!”

This spiralling down of relations between two populist leaders can be viewed through state- as well as personal-level lenses. President Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on India in April, followed by another 25 percent in August for buying, refining and exporting Russian oil. This makes it one of the steepest........

© The News on Sunday