Praised as a masterclass in “strategic silence,” the India–US trade deal is being framed as a win where PM Modi let patience, not posturing, do the work. Tariffs fell from 50% to 18%, Trump blinked, and India avoided public confrontation. Yet even now, key details remain unclear, with sharply different narratives from Washington and New Delhi. Was Modi’s silence a confident display of strength that forced Trump to fold or does the lack of transparency suggest the real cost of the deal is still being carefully hidden from public view ?
"रणनीतिक चुप्पी” की मिसाल बताई जा रही भारत–अमेरिका व्यापार डील को एक जीत के रूप में पेश किया जा रहा है, जहाँ प्रधानमंत्री मोदी ने बयानबाज़ी नहीं, धैर्य को हथियार बनाया। टैरिफ 50% से घटकर 18% हुए, ट्रंप पीछे हटे और भारत ने खुला टकराव टाल दिया। फिर भी, डील के अहम ब्योरे अब तक साफ़ नहीं हैं और वॉशिंगटन व नई दिल्ली की कहानियाँ अलग-अलग हैं। क्या मोदी की चुप्पी ताकत का भरोसेमंद संकेत थी जिसने ट्रंप को झुकने पर मजबूर किया या पारदर्शिता की कमी बताती है कि डील की असली कीमत अब भी जनता से छुपाई जा रही है ?
With Revenue Deficit Grants now reduced to zero and Punjab losing the ₹2,000–3,000 Crores annual cushion it once depended on, the timing is uncomfortable for the Bhagwant Mann Government. As salaries, pensions and interest payments keep rising, Punjab is being told to “manage on its own” just when its finances are most stretched. The uncomfortable question is this: Did the Mann Government fail to safeguard Punjab’s fiscal interests at the Centre or was more energy spent on political posturing while a crucial support line quietly disappeared ? And as borrowing pressure grows, will ordinary Punjabis end up paying the price for the gap between loud promises and hard fiscal negotiation ?
