Trump's threat to pull the trigger may jolt India's complacent elite

India needs another shot of difficult reform, of the kind only possible at gunpoint. Mr Trump holds that gun to our heads now

Is the arrival of Donald Trump and the breathless rise of Trumpism a good or a bad thing for India? His song from the day he moved into the White House has been, “Everybody has robbed us, friend or foe”. Since then, he’s been relentlessly targeting friends first — Europe on strategic and defence issues, Canada, Mexico and, of course, India, “the tariff king,” on trade.

 

Here’s my short answer: This change in Washington is like a gun held to India’s head, with Mr Trump’s finger on the trigger. It is also the best thing that could happen to India.