India, Aug. 22 -- There was always a feudal warlord element to US President Donald Trump's recent outbursts against India. As he lashed out from behind the protective gear of tariffs and penalties, the US president's rants smacked of the arrogance that only imperialists permit themselves.

Russian oil is a bogey. This is the 2025 version of the East India Company, at least insofar as a colonialist mindset goes. The Americans may not be physically arriving to vanquish India like the British invaders did. But the entitled way with which the Trump administration is talking down to India smacks of the same attitude.

And if you had even the slightest doubt that this was about some genuine disagreement over India's supposed protectionism in fa...