India-US relations: News and Discussions IV

[Vayutuvan]

So it looks like we bent the knee.

Hain jee? How did you come to that conclusion?

[Vayutuvan]

^^you can probably wax more eloquence, some more idioms and phrases could probably help explain more what you're trying to convey, no need to be bashful

Coincidentally, this is the official mea notice, which is a big word salad of masterful inactivity and says nothing, though if one is in a poetic state of mind and reading tea leaves like nobody's business, shayari precedes illusory meaning even from cursory glances

[img...]
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G3W6ft6a0AA ... ame=medium
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ricky_v ji, that is a really nicely worded press release. That leaves the door open to press the US to give us a better pricing. Classic old game of pitting one supplier against the other. Dhando only. Nothing personal. suvarna kapi understand that more than anybody else, I am sure. He would have engaged in the same countless number of times when he was building all those towers.

[A_Gupta]

The New York Times interprets the MEA thusly:


"India Tiptoes Around Trump’s Latest Claims on Russian Oil Purchases

The government subtly rebuffed the president’s comments that it would stop buying Russian oil, as it tries to avoid a public fight and end a trade dispute with Washington."

[A_Gupta]

Can't tell by oil prices, e.g., Barron's:

Oil Falls as Oversupply Concerns Outweigh India News

By
Anthony Harrup, Dow Jones Newswires

Oil futures extend losses to three straight sessions, giving up gains made on President Trump's saying India will in time stop buying oil from Russia.

India's foreign ministry said the country's policy remains one of broad-based energy sourcing and diversification, and that it's discussing deeper energy cooperation with the U.S.

Market concerns with oversupply remain a weight on prices as the EIA reports a 3.5 million barrel weekly crude stock build amid a sharp drop in refinery runs.

"Reports of a possible meeting between Trump and Putin likely added to late session selling, as did the potential negative impact of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown on petroleum demand," Ritterbusch says in a note.

WTI settles down 1.4% at $57.46 a barrel, a more than five-month low. Brent falls 1.4% to $61.06 a barrel.

-----

[A_Gupta]

This is how the CCP reads it:
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202510/1345806.shtml

Trump's claim that Modi had agreed to halt imports of Russian oil is likely a move aimed at pressuring Moscow, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times. After all, Trump's involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has so far failed to produce any tangible progress, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times.

By releasing such information, Washington appears to be signaling to Moscow in hopes of nudging it toward a cease-fire on terms set by the US, Qian said, noting that however, given the close ties between Russia and India, the effectiveness of this strategy remains uncertain.

The US has long sought to pressure India on this issue, yet considering India's long-term foreign policy priorities and national interests, it is unlikely to fully abandon energy cooperation with Russia in the near future, Qian emphasized.

[A_Gupta]

The White House website:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/investments/

MAJOR INVESTMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Made possible by President Trump’s leadership — The U.S. has seen a surge of private and foreign investment that are fueling job growth, innovation, and opportunity across every corner of the country.

In that list is

India (Foreign Investment) $500 Billion

If @Y. Kanan could interpret this please?

[A_Gupta]

FYI, Japan is listed at $1 trillion on the White House website.
Japan says it is $550 billion.
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16063422

South Korea is listed at $450 billion.
Per South Korea, it is $350 billion.
https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-policy/202 ... 7OA7CHSOA/

Please to interpret. I know, I know, we all must publicly believe Trump and disbelieve the public officials of India, South Korea, Japan, etc. or else be struck with 1000% tariffs and personal sanctions.

[Cain Marko]

Dunno if this discussed here not our man, Ashley Table Tellis was arrested in the US for giving China classified info from the DOD.

[Vayutuvan]

@cain marko ji, a lot has been discussed already. A lot more needs to be uncovered. Let us do it collectively and link this fellow to any and all BIF forces in the US and elsewhere.

[Amber G.]

Sharing a US - India Immigrant story - At the time of Trump around that time of the year when people listen about announcements of Nobles (A story I shared a few years ago around the same time).

Sri C. Radhakrishna Rao ((Born: 10 September 1920, Huvina Hadagali, Karnataka India.), retired at the age of sixty and went to live with his daughter in America along with his grandchildren.

There, at the age of 62, he became a professor of statistics at the University of Pittsburgh and at the age of 70, he became the head of the department at the University of Pennsylvania.

US citizenship at the age of 75. National Medal For Science at the age of 82, a White House honor.

At the age of 102, he received the International Statistics Prize ( commonly known as Nobel Prize in Statistics).

In India, the government has already honored him with Padma Bhushan (1968) and Padma Vibhushan (2001).
Rao says: No one asks after retirement in India. Colleagues also respect power and not scholarship.

At the age of 102, receiving a Nobel while in good physical condition, it is probably the first example.

[Manish_P]

Sharing a US - India Immigrant story - At the time of Trump around that time of the year when people listen about announcements of Nobles (A story I shared a few years ago around the same time).
...

Another US-India immigrant (?) story. Maybe the opposite of the above story?

I don't know why this popped in my feed. Maybe because of the above post ?

Indian-origin Subu Vedam to be deported after 43 years in US jail, family says ‘he doesn’t speak Hindi’

After spending 43 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit, Indian-origin man Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam was ordered to be released from prison earlier this month.

But before he could even step outside, he was taken into US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody — and now faces deportation to India. A country he last saw as a baby.

The 64-year-old grew up in Pennsylvania and has lived in the US since he was nine months old. He was exonerated of all charges on 2 October. However, ICE cited a decades-old deportation order from 1988 to justify his detention and deportation. The order was based on the same murder conviction and a separate drug-related offence.

His family had spent decades hoping for his freedom, but is now left devastated. “All we want is for him to be home with us and to be able to move forward in life,” his niece Zoë Miller-Vedam told USA Today.

Vedam was convicted of murder in 1983 for the killing of his former classmate and roommate, 19-year-old Tom Kinser, who had gone missing in late 1980 in State College, Pennsylvania. His body was later found with a gunshot wound to the head.

Authorities claimed Vedam was the last person seen with Kinser, but there were no witnesses, physical evidence or signs of hostility between the two. Vedam maintained his innocence but was denied bail as a “foreigner likely to flee”, and his passport and green card were confiscated.

In 1983, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. His appeals continued for decades until 2021, when new evidence came to light. On October 2, 2025, all charges against him were dropped, confirming Vedam’s wrongful conviction.

Ava Benach, Vedam’s lawyer, said her client was the longest-incarcerated prisoner in Pennsylvania to be exonerated. “Subu has lived in the US since he was a nine-month-old infant when he and his family arrived as lawful permanent residents of the United States,” she said. “He was still a lawful permanent resident, and his application for citizenship had been accepted, when he was arrested in 1982.”

Benach added that Vedam “forfeited four decades of his life to a prison sentence for a murder he didn’t commit” and worked to educate and rehabilitate other inmates during his time behind bars.

[skumar]

So it looks like we bent the knee. When push came to shove, we chose the US over Russia. US market access is worth more than Russian friendship.

I think the Indian public is being prepped for this major realignment, so it's being phased in amidst denials and confused messaging. Our leaders can't just come out and admit we're dumping Russia for the US, especially as it's so obvious we were forced into doing so.

Don't think that we bent the knee.

PM spoke to Gor before he could present his credentials. Trump might be referring to discussions there and Gor may have presented the discussions in a way that seems like he has achieved a breakthrough in his first meeting. Since Gor was presented as "having Trump's ear", Trump may have thought he was actually in the room and whatever Gor told him was true.

Would Trump meet an India ambassador to be in Washington or has he ever met one in a one on one?

[uddu]

India will never damage the relationship with Russia build over decades of trust. Buying oil from Russia was a necessity and a post Rus-Ukr war trend. If oil comes, cheaper from other destination, we will buy from other sources too. What could happen is slight improvement with a Mini Trade deal with the U.S. As long as Trump is President, with his daily lies and U turns, this is very difficult to achieve. Trump seems to have lost control in wanting to achieve greatness and is played by clowns. His lack of knowledge and understanding about the world is also not helping.

[Rudradev]

I think that is what happened.

There was no phone call between Modi and Trump.

Instead there was a meeting between Modi and Sebastian Gor (who had been advertised as having Trump's ear and being his personal pick). Modi might have decided to offer Gor the opportunity for an informal chat, even before officially accepting Gor's diplomatic credentials, as a gesture of good will.

Gor then reported to Trump that Modi said something about stopping India's purchase of Russian oil.

On the one hand, Gor has zero experience as a diplomat-- he doesn't realize the importance of conversations held off-the-record, or understand that information communicated through such channels should be kept confidential if he wants to retain special access granted to him by the host government.

On the other hand, Gor is desperate to tell Trump only what Trump wants to hear, and will spin anything told to him as a favourable message for this purpose.

If Gor continues along this path, he may find his tenure in India becoming Gor Kaliyug. Meanwhile, the GOI establishment has learned something useful about how the Gor-Trump relationship functions (everything that goes into Gor's ear is eventually repeated into Trump's rear, with predictable consequences). This can be leveraged to India's advantage in future.

[Amber G.]

Some body with a handle MAGA_Rxxx asked a x poster ( a friend - Physicist)

My taxes fund your research, I will decide what you work on

He replied:

my good man first of all I work in India. Secondly I have no funds can you send some

Got quite a nice comments ... etc..

[chanakyaa]

...
Meanwhile, the GOI establishment has learned something useful about how the Gor-Trump relationship functions (everything that goes into Gor's ear is eventually repeated into Trump's rear, with predictable consequences). This can be leveraged to India's advantage in future.

Interesting thought RD ji. Looks like Gor's appointment with the ENT specialist in New Delhi went very well, mapping the distance between his ears and mouth.

[drnayar]

Sharing a US - India Immigrant story - At the time of Trump around that time of the year when people listen about announcements of Nobles (A story I shared a few years ago around the same time).

Sri C. Radhakrishna Rao ((Born: 10 September 1920, Huvina Hadagali, Karnataka India.), retired at the age of sixty and went to live with his daughter in America along with his grandchildren.

There, at the age of 62, he became a professor of statistics at the University of Pittsburgh and at the age of 70, he became the head of the department at the University of Pennsylvania.

US citizenship at the age of 75. National Medal For Science at the age of 82, a White House honor.

At the age of 102, he received the International Statistics Prize ( commonly known as Nobel Prize in Statistics).

In India, the government has already honored him with Padma Bhushan (1968) and Padma Vibhushan (2001).
Rao says: No one asks after retirement in India. Colleagues also respect power and not scholarship.

At the age of 102, receiving a Nobel while in good physical condition, it is probably the first example.

Thank you for sharing this, Amberji

Inspiring life story !!

[bala]

Just a correction for Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao: he was long time prof at Pennsylvania State University not University of Pennsylvania. C R Rao is telugu though born in Karnataka. CR Rao worked at Indian Statistical Institute ISI intially. He was a Director at ISI. His work in statistics include Cramer-Rao bound and Rao-Blackwell theorem, there is also Rao's score test. He became the president of the International statistical institute. C R Rao is no more.

[bala]

DJT celebrates Diwali in the Oval Office with many Indian origin Americans attending. DJT mentioned about trade talks with India. He is okay with light over dark theme of diwali and he says he likes modi and he had a conversation with him. After that the topic veers of into no war with Pak, investments into US now reaching 20T and so on. It gets boring and repetitious after the first few minutes of celebration of diwali.

More here if you want to watch..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9op_GEC_kI

[Tanaji]

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/india-n ... _topscroll

This is quoting a LiveMint report so take it for what it’s worth.

The reduce energy imports from Russia part is strange as to why it would be in a US deal unless US is offering at low prices.

[A_Gupta]

The Congress on Wednesday took potshots at the Centre after US President Donald Trump yet again claimed that India is “not going to buy much oil from Russia”. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said this is the fourth time in six days that the American leader has announced India's policy.

Trump has to be seen as aiding the Congress, IMO. Trump’s behavior would be understandable if there was a significant American constituency for whom India’s energy policy was an issue. But there is not. So this is either dementia or a calculated effort to create problems for PM Modi.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-ne ... 93427.html

[Lisa]

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/india-n ... _topscroll

This is quoting a LiveMint report so take it for what it’s worth.

The reduce energy imports from Russia part is strange as to why it would be in a US deal unless US is offering at low prices.

In India, BJP sources should start saying that US has agreed to subsidise Indian energy imports. Let the US then deny.

[uddu]

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1980826742379184347
@narendramodi
Thank you, President Trump, for your phone call and warm Diwali greetings. On this festival of lights, may our two great democracies continue to illuminate the world with hope and stand united against terrorism in all its forms.

@realDonaldTrump @POTUS

[Amber G.]

^^^^ Meanwhile: Donald Trump, even on Diwali, yet again makes a baseless statement claiming to have resolved the India-Pakistan war... Truth is Pakistan begged India for a ceasefire and desperately wanted US help:

“..I mentioned eight wars. Of the eight, five were based solely on trade and tariffs. India-Pakistan were going at it. Two nuclear powers and serious nuclear. Seven planes shot down. They were ready to go and I called them up, I said, you go to war and we're not doing a trade deal and they said, well, what does one thing have to do with the other? I said, it has a lot, you are nuclear powers, and if you do it, we're not doing a trade deal. 24 hours later, they called me. We have decided not to do it. We stopped the war. We stopped a potential disaster, a nuclear disaster, because of trade...”

[Amber G.]

US President DonaldTrump says India is nearing a trade deal.
'Modi agreed to not buy that much Russian oil,' says Trump.

Meanwhile: It is unlikely that the Indian PM will travel abroad and meet Trump. (No formal announcement yet from Delhi on what level Indian participation will be at the Asean summit in Malaysia over the weekend)
<link>

[Amber G.]

Also headlines:
MAGA nativists embrace darkness of racism over White House Diwali

Trump's Tall Tales: Modi's Sharp Rebuke On Terror & Trade

[Amber G.]

Thank you for sharing this, Amberji
Inspiring life story !!

Thank you Dr Nayar and others!

Like everyone in the academic community then, I knew Dr. C. R. Rao as the legendary statistician who was both brilliant and gracious with those around him. I remember very well that post/during Emergency years he left India, and University of Pittsburgh welcomed him.

Born in 1920 in Karnataka, he rose from humble beginnings to lead the Indian Statistical Institute after another great P. C. Mahalanobis, but during the turbulent Emergency years, academic politics made his position difficult. After retiring around 1978, he moved to the U.S. to live with his daughter and grandchildren, and soon began a second, equally distinguished career.

At 59, he joined the University of Pittsburgh with what was then considered a generous academic salary — yet, many observed with quiet amusement, it was still less than what an ordinary physician in Pittsburgh earned. A reminder of how differently the world values intellect.

He later founded the Center for Multivariate Analysis at SUNY Buffalo, and went on to serve as Eberly Professor at Penn State (not University of Pennsylvania - an error) , continuing research well into his 90s.

He received India’s Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, the U.S. National Medal of Science, and at 102, the International Prize in Statistics — often called the “Nobel Prize in Statistics.”

Dr. Rao once said that “after retirement, no one asks in India; colleagues often respect power more than scholarship.” Perhaps that honesty reflected the struggles that shaped his journey.

These ideas now underpin much of data science, AI, and modern scientific inference — a quiet legacy that reaches far beyond mathematics itself. Not only that, as you may know, his ideas also transformed medical and biological research — from designing clinical trials and analyzing genetic data to improving diagnostic imaging and biostatistics. Tools based on the Cramér–Rao bound, Rao–Blackwell theorem, and multivariate analysis are now standard in epidemiology, genomics, and medical AI — a quiet legacy of mathematics serving human health.

[chetak]

US President DonaldTrump says India is nearing a trade deal.
'Modi agreed to not buy that much Russian oil,' says Trump.

Meanwhile: It is unlikely that the Indian PM will travel abroad and meet Trump. (No formal announcement yet from Delhi on what level Indian participation will be at the Asean summit in Malaysia over the weekend)
<link>

Amber ji,

First of all, trump needs to stampede the oil markets to jack up prices. he needs lots of money to pay his corn and soyabean farmers to compensate some of their losses that his own foolish geopolitical misadventures have precipitated

cheen recently released some of its oil reserves to cool the oil markets down and as a warning to trump

If India "agrees" to stop buying russki oil, the amrikis and the saudis together will create a shortage ( by simply maintaining current production levels) and profit from the fact that one of the world's biggest customers would be scrambling to meet their domestic requirements on the spot market, thereby driving up the crude prices

India cannot afford any increase in oil prices at the pump because of domestic blowback

these guys are hoping that such domestic blowback will be one of the factors that will create serious political difficulties for Modi ji and hopefully destabilize the finely balanced socio economic ecosystem and hopefully push it over the edge

regime changes in nepal, beediland and pak have not done much to shake the foundations of the Modi govt.

trump is gradually raising the ante hoping to light some sparks in a landscape that has been "sprinkled with kerosine", as per the eyetaalian brat

trump's continuous lying about India is only strengthening the narrative (in his mind). even trump is not that stupid to believe his own propaganda about a recalcitrant India that is callously profiteering when all that Modi ji is doing is simply looking out for his people and his country.

He has effectively taken out both eyeraaan and venezuela off the global supply chains. He needs to squeeze out russia too from these supply chains and force India to buy amriki oil at inflated prices

If it works out, he will force his way and break into India's weapons market and break the russian lock on supply of advanced weapon systems to India. The goras don't want a strong and heavily armed India with very potent weapon systems upsetting the global order and so they want to neuter India and tame any leader like Modi ji.

No gora or gelfie gives a rats about how many ukrainians and palestinians die

[bala]

Chetak ji, quite well summarized on the global picture.

Just some additional points:

DJT is actually the front end tool for the US Deep State which is now blatant and ruthless in its objectives. The previous avatars of El Presidente of US were front face hollywood facades, wherein the evil Deep State operatives manipulated things quietly behind the scenes. Now it is done in the open with a loud mouth DJT. Note that DJT himself is a bit torn, like in Diwali celebration, he went back to his old ways of dealing with India and also acknowledged "hindu" light over darkness. But the Deep State operatives have a vice grip on his agenda and there is the threat of assasination hanging over DJT, they tried twice. The Cheens are deft at playing the game of ruthless barter and the damocles sword of rare earths hangs over the US. The Deep State still has its plants manufacturing products for the world in cheenland and due to the relocation of some, costs are going up. No problem, they passed on the problem to the US consumer, all prices are double or triple what they were, e.g. McD meals were like 3.99 are now 9.99 3x, but inflation is pegged to gasoline prices so there is none! All cheen made stuff are similar 1.99 is now 5.99 and so on. Nations like Thailand, Laos, Vietnam etc are benefitting since some cheen land factories relocated there. A huge load of parts from cheen land have landed there and local labor is into screwdrivergiri for the US destination. People in the US are thinking tariffs help the US companies but actually the consumer is being shafted by US Deep State.

[Amber G.]

For many of us whose primary interest in coming to US and making a home here, were universities and research institutes. This is the connection which ties us to both India and USA.

In this respect, sharing a breaking from Harvard:
[urlhttps://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/10/21/f ... ions-cuts/]Harvard FAS Cuts Ph.D. Seats By More Than Half Across Next Two Admissions Cycles[/url]

Harvard just announced massive cuts to dozens of its PhD programs (More in science), citing “financial pressure.”

- Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75%
-- Biology by 75%
- Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, History etc - 50-60%


As terrible as the news is (for USA), but if it is an indication of things to come across the American academic ecosystem in the Trump's world, Indian institutions should treat this as an opportunity-- such as increase intake of PhD students across the board, especially in STEM in India.

[gakakkad]

^ as much as I detest cutting funds for stem , Harvard is full of crap here . They have an endowment of 60 billion dollars . And an admin bloat because of the massive number of fat cat executives they have on payroll . It gave up on science a research a while back . As such a lot of their PhDs weren't sponsored by the university to begin with . For instance all biomedical PhDs were sponsored by Harvard medical school which is a separate entity or by the hospitals like Brigham/mass gen or bi . Most of the university ilk is industrial strength chutiyas.