4 min readNew DelhiApr 25, 2026 06:11 AM IST
RSS leader and former BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav has expressed surprise at the strain in India-US relations despite what he described as New Delhi having agreed to a range of American demands — from tariffs to oil sourcing decisions.
Questioning where India had fallen short in meeting American expectations, Madhav, speaking at a panel discussion in the US on Thursday, said, “We agreed to stop buying oil from Iran and Russia, facing so much criticism from the Opposition. We agreed to 50% tariffs… In the new trade deal also, we agreed to 18% tariffs.”
At the Hudson Institute in Washington, where RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale also delivered a lecture, Madhav flagged anxiety within the Indian diaspora over remarks such as “hell hole” and “laptop-wielding charlatans”.
While cautioning against reading the current phase as a breakdown, Madhav warned against complacency. “One may say it is a passing phase. (But) Countries do not have the luxury to take four years as a passing phase,” he said.
He argued that the three pillars underpinning the India-US relationship — geostrategic alignment, economic ties and people-to-people engagement — were all under stress.
“We had a great understanding about our geostrategic priorities. There was a broad alignment on China and Islamic terrorism. Today, it does not seem so anymore,” he said.
“We don’t understand what are the geostrategic priorities of the US government now. Not just we, even NATO, Europeans and the QUAD don’t understand it. So, the geostrategic pillar is shaking,” he added.
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On the economic front, Madhav said the relationship had been hit, pointing to what he described as net negative FDI flows from the US and tensions over tariffs. “We have seen what happened on tariffs. How bad this relationship became in the last one year is very well before us. We are looking forward to the trade deal, which is expected to be closed in less than a month. We are hoping we will have a better tariff regime,” he said.
However, he identified the people-to-people connect as the most worrying aspect.
“In the last 15-20 years, this diaspora has been playing a very important role in our relationship. During the nuclear negotiations in 2006-09… as part of the Opposition, we used to oppose the deal. The diaspora community would tell us not to do so as it was in India’s interest,” he said.
“Today, there is a lot of anxiety among the diaspora. When things like ‘hellhole’ and ‘laptop-wielding charlatans’ are said about the community, it gets worried,” he added.
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The comments came on a day when US President Donald Trump reposted a podcast by American commentator Michael Savage, who referred to India, China and other countries as “hell-holes”. Advocating changes to US birthright citizenship laws, Savage alleged that people from these countries travel to the US to “drop a baby in the ninth month”, turning them into “instant” citizens.
Madhav said rebuilding ties would require “mutual respect and mutual sensitivity”, along with a reassessment of shared interests. “When we said we want multi-alignment, we were ridiculed or frowned upon. Our strategic autonomy was rubbished. But… what the US is doing today is precisely the same. Because it is in your interest, you can go with so and so country. You don’t look at the sensitivities of other countries.”
