India Monitor (6/2025). An Indian and a Pole flew into space together. After the armed clashes with Pakistan in May, June offered India a time of relief. However, another tragedy struck: on June 12, a civilian plane crashed in the city of Ahmedabad, leading to 260 casaulties. On another front, the Indian forces are continuing their operation against the Maoist rebels in the hinterland. Amongst more positive news, an Indian and a Polish astronaut flew into Space together on June 25, as part of the Axiom-4 mission. Shubhanshu Shukla and Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski accompany a Hungarian astronaut and an American mission commander. Download the entire June compilation with commentary here.
India Monitor (5/2025). In the first half of May, India found herself locked in high-scale tensions with Pakistan. At first, during the night of May 6-7, Indian jet fighters hit terrorist centres in Pakistan. The attack was an act of retaliation to the last month’s (April 22) terrorist attack in India. Islamabad claims it had no links to the extremists and that the Indian attack caused the death of civilians, not terrorists. The Indian attack caused a whole chain of strikes and counterstrikes between India and Pakistan; this dangerous escalation even included hitting each others’ military bases. In the end, however, the situation calmed down by around May 12. Beyond those tensions, India signed a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom. Download the entire May compilation with commentary here.
India Monitor (4/2025). A terrorist attack in the Indian Kashmir sparks tensions with Pakistan. On April 22, terrorists from The Resistance Front, an obscure Kashmiri separatist and radical Islamist organisation, murdered nearly 30 people in the Baisaran Valley, in the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir. A part of the attackers were reported as Pakistani citizens. This led to tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad – these are still ongoing at the time of writing. In response to the attack, the Indian government announced a number of punitive measures against Pakistan. Arguably, the strongest amongst them so far was New Delhi’s statement that it will hold the Indus Waters Treaty ‘in abeyance,’ which effectively means that India may in future block a part of the waters from flowing into Pakistani territory. Download the entire April compilation with commentary here.
India Monitor (3/2025). India is negotiating a trade deal with the US and reducing tensions with China. The month of March was filled with New Delhi’s attempts at negotiations with the world’s two largest economic powers. At the end of the month, an Indian official delegation visited Washington, where it reportedly reached a agreement on a bilateral tariff reduction. That way, India may have avoided becoming a target of President Trump’s tariff war. This tariff decrease may pave a way for a broader India-US trade deal that Prime Minister Modi would like to be signed by the end of this year. The same month, New Delhi also hosted Elon Musk who is apparently attempting to enter the Indian market of satellite service providers. While deepening relations with the US, India is also trying to reach a thaw with China. In March, Prime Minister Modi spoke of the PRC in friendly terms while earlier his government reduced tariffs on certain raw materials, including the ones imported from China. Download the entire March compilation with commentary here.
India Monitor (2/2025). Just like in January, India's foreign policy in February 2025 has particularly focused on intensifying its ties with the US, given that Donald Trump's administration has just commenced its tenure. In the days of February 12-13, Prime Minister Modi paid a visit to Washington where he met Donald Trump. According to the latter, one of the highlights of their conversations was an offer to sell the American F-35 fighter jets to India. However, according to the Indian MEA, the formal acquisition process has not even commenced yet (a bid has not yet been announced). Modi had also met Elon Musk with whom he discussed ways of raising government efficiency. Yet, despite these meetings, during the same month the US deported hundreds of illegal Indian immigrants back to their country of origin while Musk's department, DOGE, tweeted a false piece of information which has kicked up a political storm in India. Download the entire February compilation with commentary here.
India Monitor (1/2025). January was a particularly important time for India-US relations, given the swearing-in of the new President of the latter country: Donald Trump. The ceremony was attended by India's Minister of External Affairs. Earlier, Trump spoke on the phone with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and announced that Modi would visit the US in February. Even before Trump took office, the incumbent Biden administration announced it would ease its rules of cooperation with India in the field of civil nuclear energy. However, despite this energetic opening of a new chapter in US-India relations, these ties are also facing major challenges, such as the question of the status of H-1B work visas, and doubts about the possibility of Trump's administration imposing tariffs on India. Download the entire January compilation with commentary here.
