Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Indian anger after Trump’s ‘filthy’ talk

By Amit Roy

WATCHING the US presidential debate last week in Nashville, Tennessee, I have to admit I was startled in the early hours of the morning when Donald Trump described India as a “filthy” country.


Whether he wins or loses in next Tuesday’s (3) election, I feel he has lost a number of friends in India, across the Indian diaspora – and, significantly, perhaps even among voters of Indian origin in the US.

To be fair to Trump, I need to put his words into context. His comments were made in relation to the emission commitments made by his predecessor under the Paris Climate Accord, and his decision to pull out from the agreement on the grounds that it was unfair towards the US.

Responding to a question on how he would combat climate change and support jobs growth, he claimed that “we have the best carbon emission numbers that we’ve had in 35 years under this administration. We are working so well with industry, but here’s what we can’t do – look at China, how filthy it is, look at Russia, look at India, it’s filthy, the air is filthy.”

Of course, everyone knows pollution levels in the Indian capital, New Delhi, are intolerable, and many other cities in the country are not much better.

In fact, the Mumbai-based writer, Kiran Manral, author of The Reluctant Detective, made a point of not being offended.

She tweeted that “air reaches levels of toxicity every single year” and added: “Instead of getting all insulted and upset, can we just take it up as a challenge to clean up our surroundings and our air? So, no one can ever dare say that again.”

Doctors and epidemiologists have also warned that toxic air will hamper India’s fight against Covid-19.

However, what many Indians took in was Trump’s unfortunate phrasing, “look at India, it’s filthy”. They will also resent being bracketed with China and Russia. These are not words that they would have expected to hear from someone who has enjoyed Indian hospitality and is meant to be good friends with the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.

It didn’t help that Trump’s jibe came ahead of an official visit this week by Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper, the US secretaries of state and defence respectively. They arrived in New Delhi on Monday (26) to meet their Indian counterparts for the “US-India 2+2 ministerial” talks and to meet Modi.

Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic challenger for the White House, rounded on the president for his alleged gaffe and voiced the sentiments of many Indians: “President Trump called India ‘filthy’. It’s not how you talk about friends – and it’s not how you solve global challenges like climate change.”

Referring to his vice-presidential candidate, Biden went on: “@Kamala Harris and I deeply value our partnership – and will put respect back at the center of our foreign policy.”

It will be recalled his “Howdy, Modi!” event in Houston in September 2019 was attended by nearly 50,000 people and hailed by Trump as a “profoundly historic event”.

And in February this year, Modi put on a grand “Namaste Trump” show, complete with songs, dances and a mega reception attended by 125,000 at the newly-built Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

In India, the Congress opposition sought to embarrass Modi.

Kapil Sibal, a senior Congress leader, taunted Modi: “Trump: Fruits of Friendship: Questions India’s Covid-19 death count. Says India sends dirt up into the air. India ‘air is filthy’. Called India ‘tariff king’. The result of ‘Howdy Modi’.”

Another Congress leader, Anand Sharma, added: “President Donald Trump has insulted ‘Namaste India’ and exposed his lack of knowledge on climate change and the Paris Agreement.

“A fact check would have told him that the US is the largest polluter historically and its per capita green-house gas emissions are six times India’s ‘filthy air’.”

If Trump loses, his words will be used against him to celebrate “the fall of a filthy president”.

But if he is returned to the White House, both sides will ignore his “India is filthy” comment.

More For You

The real challenge isn’t having more parties, but governing a divided nation

Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn

Getty Images

The real challenge isn’t having more parties, but governing a divided nation

It is a truth universally acknowledged that voters are dissatisfied with the political choices on offer - so must they be in want of new parties too? A proliferation of start-ups showed how tricky political match-making can be. Zarah Sultana took Jeremy Corbyn by surprise by announcing they will co-lead a new left party. Two of Nigel Farage’s exes announced separate political initiatives to challenge Reform from its right, with the leader of London’s Conservatives lending her voice to Rupert Lowe’s revival of the politics of repatriation.

Corbyn and Sultana are from different generations. He had been an MP for a decade by the time she was born. For Sultana’s allies, this intergenerational element is a core case for the joint leadership. But the communications clash suggests friction ahead. After his allies could not persuade Sultana to retract her announcement, Corbyn welcomed her decision to leave Labour, saying ‘negotiations continue’ over the structure and leadership of a new party. It will seek to link MPs elected as pro-Gaza independents with other strands of the left outside Labour.

Keep ReadingShow less
Amol Rajan confronts loss along the Ganges

Amol Rajan at Prayagraj

Amol Rajan confronts loss along the Ganges

ONE reason I watched the BBC documentary Amol Rajan Goes to the Ganges with particular interest was because I have been wondering what to do with the ashes of my uncle, who died in August last year. His funeral, like that of his wife, was half Christian and half Hindu, as he had wished. But he left no instructions about his ashes.

Sooner or later, this is a question that every Hindu family in the UK will have to face, since it has been more than half a century since the first generation of Indian immigrants began arriving in this country. Amol admits he found it difficult to cope with the loss of his father, who died aged 76 three years ago. His ashes were scattered in the Thames.

Keep ReadingShow less
One year on, Starmer still has no story — but plenty of regrets

Sir Keir Starmer

Getty Images

One year on, Starmer still has no story — but plenty of regrets

Do not expect any parties in Downing Street to celebrate the government’s first birthday on Friday (4). After a rocky year, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer had more than a few regrets when giving interviews about his first year in office.

He explained that he chose the wrong chief of staff. That his opening economic narrative was too gloomy. That choosing the winter fuel allowance as a symbol of fiscal responsibility backfired. Starmer ‘deeply regretted’ the speech he gave to launch his immigration white paper, from which only the phrase ‘island of strangers’ cut through. Can any previous political leader have been quite so self-critical of their own record in real time?

Keep ReadingShow less
starmer-bangladesh-migration
Sir Keir Starmer
Getty Images

Comment: Can Starmer turn Windrush promises into policy?

Anniversaries can catalyse action. The government appointed the first Windrush Commissioner last week, shortly before Windrush Day, this year marking the 77th anniversary of the ship’s arrival in Britain.

The Windrush generation came to Britain believing what the law said – that they were British subjects, with equal rights in the mother country. But they were to discover a different reality – not just in the 1950s, but in this century too. It is five years since Wendy Williams proposed this external oversight in her review of the lessons of the Windrush scandal. The delay has damaged confidence in the compensation scheme. Williams’ proposal had been for a broader Migrants Commissioner role, since the change needed in Home Office culture went beyond the treatment of the Windrush generation itself.

Keep ReadingShow less
Eye Spy: Top stories from the world of entertainment

Ed Sheeran and Arijit Singh

Eye Spy: Top stories from the world of entertainment

Ed Sheeran and Arijit Singh’s ‘Sapphire’ collaboration misses the mark

The song everyone is talking about this month is Sapphire – Ed Sheeran’s collaboration with Arijit Singh. But instead of a true duet, Arijit takes more of a backing role to the British pop superstar, which is a shame, considering he is the most followed artist on Spotify. The Indian superstar deserved a stronger presence on the otherwise catchy track. On the positive side, Sapphire may inspire more international artists to incorporate Indian elements into their music. But going forward, any major Indian names involved in global collaborations should insist on equal billing, rather than letting western stars ride on their popularity.

  Ed Sheeran and Arijit Singh

Keep ReadingShow less