Trump Dials In Birthday Flattery for Modi as Trade Talks Resume; Govt Helps Adani Gag the Media; Cricket is OK But Sikh Pilgrimage to Pakistan is Not
How should one read Modi’s birthday note to Mohan Bhagwat?
A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by Tanweer Alam, Sidharth Bhatia, Pratik Kanjilal, Seema Chishti, Sushant Singh, MK Venu, and Siddharth Varadarajan | Contributing writer: Kalrav Joshi, with additional inputs by Anirudh SK
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Snapshot of the day
September 16, 2025
Siddharth Varadarajan
Narendra Modi turns 75, clearly likes it laid on thick and the world at large knows it. In India, his PR machine has begun flooding social media with ginned-up video ‘reminisces’ of the birthday boy by various celebrities using the hashtag #MyModiStory. Smart businessman that he is, US President Donald Trump wished Modi for his birthday. His trade negotiators are in Delhi to push for concessions from India and the US President seems to have decided its time to trade in the invective for a bit of flattery:
“Just had a wonderful phone call with my friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I wished him a very Happy Birthday! He is doing a tremendous job. Narendra: Thank you for your support on ending the War between Russia and Ukraine! President DJT.”
Reading between the lines, is the reference to “support” on ending the Ukraine war an indication of India blinking on the US demand to stop buying Russian oil? It’s too early to say but Modi too, in his tweet, said, “We support your initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.”
For the Indian media, which has spent weeks fretting over the Trump–Modi rift, the birthday call comes as a welcome gift. As former State Department official Evan Feigenbaum wryly notes, “Stand by for two weeks of hyperventilating press and social media commentary on why the last three months never happened and everything is totally awesome in U.S.-India relations.”
Judging by the comments the controversial White House trade adviser Peter Navarro made on Monday – just ahead of US Assistant Trade Representative Brendan Lynch’s visit to India – stopping Russian oil purchases seems to tbe the Trumpian priority. “Indian refiners were in bed with Russian refiners immediately after the invasion... It’s crazy stuff — they profit from unfair trade with us, while American workers lose out. Then they use that money to buy Russian oil, which in turn funds Moscow’s weapons,” Navarro said,
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