Sushant Singh

Trump Is Pushing India to Submit to China Without clear U.S. support, the cost of resisting Beijing is too high.

"The ground has shifted, in large part because Trump has upended the cost-benefit analysis that once guided Modi’s strategy: maximize strategic autonomy, hedge between the US and other friends, and lean on Washington when core interests come under pressure from Beijing."

I write in Foreign Policy

Strategic surrender While the government clings to a domestic narrative of strength against China at the border, the ground realities are inconveniently stark. The Sino-India border is neither normal nor dispute-free

If you go by hard evidence, the Modi government’s quest to somehow depict normalcy in bilateral ties with China is a sign of weakness, as it is happening on Beijing’s terms. After 11 years as PM, Modi can’t blame anyone else for this major strategic failure. I write in The Telegraph, Kolkata.

The Trump–Munir lunch is not just a personal snub for Modi. It is a strategic setback for India. Trump’s repeated statements crediting himself with mediation after Operation Sindoor has been a strategic blow to India’s narrative.

Trump’s engagement with Munir, even as Pakistan goes further into China’s orbit, complicates India’s security calculus. Modi's carefully crafted narrative of global leadership has been exposed as a house of cards, vulnerable to the whims of stronger powers.

I write in @thecaravan.bsky.social

Will it? Will it not? An India-US trade deal has no easy pathways ahead Whatever be the outcome, the India-US trade deal's impact on economic growth and sovereignty cannot be separated.

"The underlying question isn't about trade deficits, market access or tariff percentages. It is about India's ability to harness economic growth while protecting its strategic autonomy and core national interests."

I write in @themorningcontext.bsky.social on the 'will-it, won't-it' India-US deal

Dropping the Pilot Sushant Singh on the erasure of history

"Renaming the Pataudi Trophy for the India-England Test series is not just a matter of changing a title. Beyond the obliteration of a unique cricketing legacy, the Pataudi name raises difficult questions about colonialism, feudalism, religious identity and nationalism."

I write at Cricket et al

Diljit Dosanjh’s Stardom Now Threatens the Gatekeepers of Indian Nationalism The consequences for creative work are chilling, and the message to the artistic community, particularly those proud of their non-majoritarian identity of language, culture and religion, is unmistakab...

I write at The India Cable on how Dosanjh’s Sikh and Punjabi identity is not incidental to his global stardom. It is central, deliberate and powerfully visible. Dosanjh affair is as much about the policing of national loyalty as it is about the discomfort with visible, assertive minority identities

Questions remain The IAF’s performance in Operation Sindoor was shaped not just by political directives but by deeper structural problems. The force was operating with less than 30 squadrons of fighter jets

The IAF lost up to five aircraft in what must be counted as India’s heaviest air losses since 1971. The Modi government’s subsequent efforts to downplay or obfuscate these losses betray a deeper discomfort: the reality of losses in the air is hard to square with the rhetoric of bold leadership.

"India... must confront the realities of its own limitations. It must invest in true technological independence, empower its military with the tools and the freedom to fight effectively, and demand honesty and accountability from its leaders."

I write in The Telegraph on the unanswered questions

YouTube video by The Caravan Magazine Modi 3.0: Diminished at Home, Diminished Abroad | The Caravan Long View Ep 1

In a new podcast conversation with Hartosh Singh Bal.

The first South Asian crisis of the third nuclear age Between 7 and 10 May, India and Pakistan traded blows in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, significantly escalating tensions and redefining their risk appetite for conventional violence below the ...

I have a new piece in the Caravan on last month's crisis between India and Pakistan, and its unsettling implications for South Asia's future in this third nuclear age. caravanmagazine.in/conflict/the...

How Vulnerable Is India to Chinese Economic Coercion? While India has taken a strong security stance against China, its economic posture has been cooperative. But India's reliance on Chinese imports may undermine its role as a counterbalance to China. Th...

Against all odds, including Trump's assault on USIP and the redressal by court orders, this paper - first proposed in 2021 in a hot Delhi summer afternoon in CPR meeting room - has finally seen the light of the day.

www.usip.org/publications...

Pakistan’s crypto strategy is a high-wire trapeze act, driven by part economic necessity, part geopolitical manoeuvre and part speculative gamble. Islamabad is tying its fortunes to surplus CPEC power, Trump-linked American interests and the volatile world of digital assets.

With its Trump connection, Pakistan’s crypto pivot is a headache for India Pakistan’s embrace of crypto—fuelled by Chinese energy, sanctioned by the state and linked to the Trump family—has opened a new front in South Asia’s battle for digital dominance.

Pakistan’s embrace of crypto—fuelled by CEPC power projects, sanctioned by the Pak state and linked to the Trump family—has created a new headache for India. It is beyond technology—about power, influence and security.

I write in @themorningcontext.bsky.social

themorningcontext.com/chaos/with-i...

Operation Sindoor and the delusion of deterrence Meant to be a demonstration of Modi's resolve and the military's technological prowess, the operation and its aftermath complicated India's security environment.

This interview was about two sections of my cover essay in The Caravan's latest issue on Operation Sindoor and the delusion of deterrence. caravanmagazine.in/conflict/ope...

YouTube video by The Wire Numbers are important, the CDS is wrong; Op Sindoor lacked strategic thought: Yale Lecturer

I spoke to Karan Thapar for @thewire.in about the Indo-Pak military clash, the CDS's revelations and the new Modi doctrine on dealing with Pakistan. It includes bits of why number of combat losses matter, and how the military delivered but political leadership didn't.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wS1...

Operation Sindoor and the delusion of deterrence Meant to be a demonstration of Modi's resolve and the military's technological prowess, the operation and its aftermath complicated India's security environment.

"While achieving a modicum of tactical success, the operation and its aftermath complicated India’s strategic environment by altering escalation dynamics, testing alliance structures and creating new challenges in warfare." In The Caravan magazine.

My cover essay in The Caravan magazine is on Operation Sindoor - the dangerous gap between Modi’s bombastic rhetoric and India’s strategic limitations, between talk of imminent victory and the actual state of military modernisation, between the projection of power and its responsible exercise.

From Wickets to Warfare. At Gideon Haigh and Peter Lalor's Substack - Cricket et al - I write on the IPL's troubling new playbook of cricket's militarisation. The fusion of commercial cricket with military triumphalism exemplifies Mike Marqusee's prescient critique in 'War Minus the Shooting'.

How India Alienated Bangladesh Due to strategic myopia, New Delhi faces a potential crisis on another border.

The diplomatic rupture with Bangladesh threatens India’s security, economic interests, and regional standing—underscoring the urgent need for introspection and a reset in New Delhi’s approach to its neighborhood.

My piece in Foreign Policy foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/22/h...

India-China ties are cooling again after fresh Kashmir clashes and China’s support for Pakistan.

@sushantsingh.bsky.social, a lecturer in South Asian Studies at Yale University, joins Eric to unpack the fallout, from media spin to global reactions and what might come next.

Why the India-China Détente May Be Over After several months of steadily improving ties, India-China relations appear to be cooling once again following the recent clashes in Kashmir. China’s military support for Pakistan during the conflic...

I spoke to Eric Olander of China Global South Project about the current state of India's ties with China, in light of the recent clash between India and Pakistan. Modi govt's political and diplomatic stance towards China, the Indian military's viewpoint and of course, India's discredited big media.

China’s tech performance in Pakistan’s war theatre calls for India to rethink its fragmented arsenal and future-proof its defence posture.

That is the bottomline, away from all the hype and hoopla. India has to prepare for the next conflict, not for the previous one. [N/N]

Even though full details of the aerial engagement on the first night—when Indian fighter jets were used to target nine sites of terror infrastructure inside Pakistan—are not confirmed, a broad picture has emerged. This picture tells us something significant.

For India, the performance of Chinese defence technology with Pakistan in the recent conflict represents both a significant security challenge and a potential catalyst for accelerated defence modernisation and industrial development.

I write in @themorningcontext.bsky.social

India-Pakistan Cease-Fire Cements a Dangerous Baseline Future conflicts will likely erupt faster and escalate more intensely.

The India-Pakistan ceasefire isn’t a breakthrough; it’s a warning. With tensions simmering just below the surface, the next crisis could spiral out of control even faster. The escalation ladder just got shorter and scarier. I write in Foreign Policy on South Asia’s fragile new normal after May 2025.

YouTube video by The Hindu What are the implications of India’s ‘new normal’ in fighting terrorism? | In Focus podcast

The Hindu's In Focus podcast (Video)

@nktpnd.bsky.social Hi, please check WhatsApp. Thanks.

India and Pakistan: what now? The nuclear-armed neighbours have come back from the brink, but can the peace hold?

I was on the Rachman Review podcast at Financial Times, discussing India and Pakistan.

What are the implications of India’s ‘new normal’ in fighting cross-border terrorism? | In Focus podcast On May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation, announced that India has established a ‘new normal’ in the fight against cross-border terrorism. Sushant Singh joins us to discuss...

Earlier today moring, I was on The Hindu's In Focus podcast, discussing the post-ceasefire scenario in the India-Pakistan fracas.

"India’s abstention has provided a reality check about its diplomatic and economic vulnerabilities in global fora. But there are still ways in which New Delhi can continue to hedge its bets and shape the narrative."