U.S.-India Relationship at Lowest Point in 30 Years, Says Congressman Ro Khanna

A Grim View of Diplomacy Today.

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has delivered a grim warning about the state of global diplomacy, asserting that the US-India partnership has reached its lowest point in three decades.

Khanna attributed the diplomatic freeze to the Donald Trump administration’s isolationist policies. The harm done in the last few years, the California lawmaker said, is not a temporary bump in the road but a deep structural fracture that has quietly eroded the bedrock of mutual respect between the two large democracies.

The Time Trust Dissolved

To illustrate how bad things are behind closed doors, Khanna offered an anecdote from a recent diplomatic trip.

“In my recent trip to China, the Indian Ambassador there looked me in the eye and told me that a generation of trust was lost because of the policies of the Trump administration,” Khanna said. "You don't rebuild that kind of loss in a day. It will require real, sustained work.”

Washington and New Delhi still talk a big game about cooperating on defence, technology and regional security in the Indo-Pacific. But Khanna argues the actual relationship has been quietly suffocated by a series of tense, recurring friction points:

Aggressive Trade Disputes: Economic ties sour over surprise tariffs and protectionist measures.

Stricter Visa Policies: Significant modifications in immigration and employment visa policies that have had a direct bearing on Indian professionals and students.

Geopolitical Differences: Washington’s unilateral foreign policy actions, which completely ignored India’s regional interests and economic stability.

Why This Troubled Relationship Matters

This is not just some abstract political debate between men in suits – the stakes are very high. The U.S. and India share one of the world’s most important strategic partnerships, a major counterweight to shifting power dynamics across Asia.

Without trust at the top, billions of dollars of bilateral trade are jeopardised, joint military coordination is slowed, and a dangerous geopolitical vacuum is created. Khanna ended his assessment with a call for urgent, clear-headed diplomacy, reminding leaders that a genuine strategic partnership cannot survive on empty phot-ops alone – it requires clean governance, predictable policies, and mutual respect.