• Adv. Rajiv Sharma

An objective analysis of various decisions taken by Modi government during last 10-11 years shows that there have been numerous instances, when Prime Minister Modi miserably failed to stand upright and take an unequivocal stand based on India's moral legacy and national interests. On many occasions, he has been found vulnerable to the pressure exerted by the international leaders and events. This reactive and regressive deviation from the consensus based foreign policy, followed till 2014 since independence, has placed India in an unenviable position in the world. The role of the Modi government in dealing the India’s Defence forces during and after 'operation Sindoor' has once again strengthened the opinion that Prime Minister Modi can crack under pressure.

Captain Shiv Kumar a senior officer of Indian Navy, who is presently working as a Military Attache at the Indian Embassy in Indonesia conceded that India lost its precious fighter jets to Pakistani fire during their conflict in May 2025 due to constraints imposed by Modi government over the armed forces.

Earlier, General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence staff of India, admitted that Indian jets were shot down by Pakistan due to some tactical mistakes. These tactical mistakes could be the constraints imposed by the Modi Government upon our forces, as referred to by Captain Shiv Kumar in the aforementioned para.

When our brave forces overcame the aforementioned government created constraints and began to teach a stern lesson to Pakistan, Donald Trump, President of the USA suddenly came on the scene and announced ceasefire at 3.33 PM on 10 May 2025 on social media. The Modi Government was forced to agree to the ceasefire within an hour of the unilateral announcement made by Trump. The turn of the events was so quick that most people were at their wits ends to understand what was happening. Just a few hours prior to the forced cease fire, the BJP leaders and the Godi media were trying to take political advantage of the valour and bravery of India’s armed forces. All and sundry in the BJP were boasting about capturing the cities of Lahore, Karachi, and annexing the Pakistan occupied Kashmir with India. PM Modi, after having his cut-outs attired in the Army uniform displayed all over the country, was also at his rhetorical best. But as soon as the tweet of President Trump appeared on social media, the Modi government meekly surrendered to the dictate of ceasefire without any ifs and buts. While doing so, PM Modi did not think about the sacrifices made by security forces and losses suffered by the country during the brief conflict. He did not even think about the fact that the killers of Pahalgam were still at large and that the whole nation wanted him to eliminate them ruthlessly.

This is not the first time that the present Prime Minister succumbed to pressure by international leaders and compromised India’s position. There are many other examples to show such improprieties on his part.

In the last week of December 2015, PM Modi went to Pakistan, an enemy country, to attend the marriage ceremony of granddaughter of then Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif, even when he was not invited to the ceremony. It must be mentioned here that in our culture, many self-respecting and dignified people do not generally go to attend the marriage ceremonies if they are not invited. But even being a representative of 130 crore people, the PM chose to go there uninvited, presumably in his personal capacity. The diplomatic blunder made by the PM Modi emboldened Pakistan to send terrorists to attack Pathankot Airbase on 02 January 2016, just a week later. Seven security personnel were killed, and 37 injured while neutralising the terrorists.

PM Modi again succumbed to pressure when he, in a horrible move, invited the dreaded Pakistani agency ISI to visit strategically crucial Pathankot Airbase and investigate the Pakistan sponsored attack.

Calling the government’s invite to the Pakistani ISI to investigate a terror attack as a blunder of colossal proportions, former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh stated in an interview to the Hindustan Times that during Congress regime Indian security forces were always given free hand to deal with the terrorists and many surgical strikes took place during his regime to neutralize terrorists hiding in foreign soils. He further said that the Congress governments neither publicized such strikes on the enemy territory nor tried to take any political benefit of the same. In the meantime, the saga of the Modi government succumbing to international pressure continued unabated. In 2019, PM Modi stopped oil imports from Iran under US pressure. This single step caused huge financial and strategic loss to India. It is worth mentioning that the US had been asking India to stop imports from Iran since 2012, but a strong government in New Delhi under Dr. Manmohan Singh did not buckle under pressure and ensured that India remained the biggest importer of Iranian oil. This bold decision in national interest saved billions of dollars in foreign exchange as Iran had agreed to accept payments in Indian currency instead of the US dollars. In addition, Dr. Manmohan Singh government entered into an agreement with Iran to develop Chahbar port, which would not only provide direct access to Indian goods to Europe and Central Asia but would also counter China’s Belt and Road initiative. Obviously, both China and Pakistan were not happy with India’s friendly relations with Iran. Ultimately, the USA was successful in arm-twisting Modi government to stop imports from Iran.

Not only this, under international pressure, the government once again ignored the vital national interest and supported Israel in its war against Iran. This unfortunate move has brought Iran closer to Pakistan and China and has relegated the all-important Chahbar deal in a realm of uncertainty.

The people of this country have still not forgotten the horrific incidents of December 1999, when the spineless Vajpayee government released dreaded terrorists including Omar Saeed and Masood Azhar Not only were these terrorists released, but they were also escorted by a cabinet minister in a chartered flight to safety out of India.

A similar lack of spine was shown by the Modi Government in April 2020, when the Chinese Army killed 20 of our brave soldiers in a hand to hand combat in Ladakh. Of course, there were casualties on the Chinese side also, but during this period, China usurped thousands of kilometres of India’s land, which it is holding until today. Under pressure, the PM Modi once again did not utter a single word to denounce the killing of the Indian soldiers at the hands of the Chinese Army. Not only this, in a cowardly act, he also cleared China of any wrongdoing and publicly stated that China had not entered Indian territory. Owing to intense public pressure to act against China, he initially banned some insignificant Chinese APPs like TikTok, but soon, Chinese pressure prevailed on him. As a result of which, the imports from China began increasing every year. Presently, the Modi government is importing Chinese goods worth more than 113.5 billion dollars. Such imports were pegged at just 65 billion dollars during 2019-20 at the time of Galwan attacks. This increase in imports helped China to overcome its post covid economic recession, while India’s small and medium industry suffered due to sub-standard and cheap imports from China. The question as to what is forcing PM Modi to provide economic benefits to China at the cost of industry in his own country remains unanswered to date.

As stated above, the saga of betrayal of the national interest continues. Recently, when 149 conscientious countries in the world voted to stop genocide and brutal massacre of women and children in Gaza, India abstained. In one stroke, the Modi government reversed the long-standing foreign policy, which supported peace & justice and destroyed India's moral legacy earned over the last 70 years. Needless to say, this was done under pressure from Israel, the USA, and their allies.

Today, the Government of India finds itself isolated and friend less in the world. The days when India joined the nuclear club 16 years ago with the support of 145 countries and when every country in the world voiced its forceful support to include India as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council look like a distant dream now.

India, a country of Gandhi and Nehru, which has 140 crore vibrant and hard-working people, still commands the respect and admiration of the world. But it is time and again being let down by a Prime Minister, whose government buckles under international pressure and undermines both the moral principles and national interests in the process.

The author is Chief Spokesperson, Chandigarh Congress