Sushant Singh
@sushantsingh.bsky.social
Lecturer, Yale University || Consulting Editor, The Caravan
[More: http://tiny.cc/YaleSushant]
Earlier: Indian Army || Indian Express || Centre for Policy Research
Books: Mission Overseas || Note by Note: The India Story 1947-2017
[More: http://tiny.cc/YaleSushant]
Earlier: Indian Army || Indian Express || Centre for Policy Research
Books: Mission Overseas || Note by Note: The India Story 1947-2017
Pinned
"Modi’s response to this crisis is to avoid rooms where Trump might be present. This strategy of evasion cannot hold.
...India needs its prime minister to show up, to defend its interests, to negotiate from whatever strength remains, and to stop pretending..."
My piece in The Telegraph, Kolkata
...India needs its prime minister to show up, to defend its interests, to negotiate from whatever strength remains, and to stop pretending..."
My piece in The Telegraph, Kolkata
Modi's silence on Mamdani’s victory reveals what terrifies Hindutva supporters. Young, progressive, interfaith, anti-establishment and unafraid, Zohran represents everything whose existence the Hindu Right has spent decades trying to deny.
I write in The Caravan
caravanmagazine.in/politics/mod...
I write in The Caravan
caravanmagazine.in/politics/mod...
Narendra Modi's silence on Zohran Mamdani’s victory reveals what terrifies Hindutva supporters
Zohran Mamdani represents everything whose existence the Hindu Right has spent decades trying to deny.
caravanmagazine.in
November 11, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Modi's silence on Mamdani’s victory reveals what terrifies Hindutva supporters. Young, progressive, interfaith, anti-establishment and unafraid, Zohran represents everything whose existence the Hindu Right has spent decades trying to deny.
I write in The Caravan
caravanmagazine.in/politics/mod...
I write in The Caravan
caravanmagazine.in/politics/mod...
The viciousness of the Far Right's attack on Indian-Americans was striking, but few mainstream voices rushed to defend the Indian-American community. The uncomfortable truth is that the narrative resonates as a clever mix of economic problems and social anxieties that can’t be politically negated.
MAGA’s battle against Indian-Americans: wrong in its particulars but effective alright
The far-right’s anti-India narrative offers simple answers to complex problems while drawing on real grievances that many Americans share
themorningcontext.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
The viciousness of the Far Right's attack on Indian-Americans was striking, but few mainstream voices rushed to defend the Indian-American community. The uncomfortable truth is that the narrative resonates as a clever mix of economic problems and social anxieties that can’t be politically negated.
"Modi’s response to this crisis is to avoid rooms where Trump might be present. This strategy of evasion cannot hold.
...India needs its prime minister to show up, to defend its interests, to negotiate from whatever strength remains, and to stop pretending..."
My piece in The Telegraph, Kolkata
...India needs its prime minister to show up, to defend its interests, to negotiate from whatever strength remains, and to stop pretending..."
My piece in The Telegraph, Kolkata
October 31, 2025 at 3:06 AM
"Modi’s response to this crisis is to avoid rooms where Trump might be present. This strategy of evasion cannot hold.
...India needs its prime minister to show up, to defend its interests, to negotiate from whatever strength remains, and to stop pretending..."
My piece in The Telegraph, Kolkata
...India needs its prime minister to show up, to defend its interests, to negotiate from whatever strength remains, and to stop pretending..."
My piece in The Telegraph, Kolkata
"Hindutva ideology alone does not explain the Ladakh tragedy. Equally culpable is the staggering incompetence that characterises the Modi administration’s actual governance. ...In border regions like Ladakh, this incompetence becomes lethal."
My piece in The Caravan magazine.
My piece in The Caravan magazine.
The Ladakh bloodshed is an outcome of the government treating its population as internal enemies.
With central forces killing four civilians in Ladakh, the Narendra Modi government has exposed its administrative incompetence as well as its ideological malevolence.
caravanmagazine.in
October 19, 2025 at 2:28 PM
"Hindutva ideology alone does not explain the Ladakh tragedy. Equally culpable is the staggering incompetence that characterises the Modi administration’s actual governance. ...In border regions like Ladakh, this incompetence becomes lethal."
My piece in The Caravan magazine.
My piece in The Caravan magazine.
Hindu Right has an Israel envy. It is reflected in the desire to copy Israel's lobbying model in the US. That has failed miserably in the past few months.
In @themorningcontext.bsky.social I look at the reasons for this failure, where Modi wasted a decade of India's foreign policy energies.
In @themorningcontext.bsky.social I look at the reasons for this failure, where Modi wasted a decade of India's foreign policy energies.
When it comes to lobbying in the US, Indian-Americans are not Jewish Americans
India tried to build an Israel-style lobby in Washington, DC. But money, race and ideology have kept Indian-Americans from becoming a political force.
themorningcontext.com
October 11, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Hindu Right has an Israel envy. It is reflected in the desire to copy Israel's lobbying model in the US. That has failed miserably in the past few months.
In @themorningcontext.bsky.social I look at the reasons for this failure, where Modi wasted a decade of India's foreign policy energies.
In @themorningcontext.bsky.social I look at the reasons for this failure, where Modi wasted a decade of India's foreign policy energies.
"Even if the partnership with Saudi Arabia fails to deliver in full operational terms, its signaling effect alters the deterrence landscape. India is now up against a Pakistan wholly backed by China, strategically supported by Saudi Arabia, and benefiting from newfound US benevolence under Trump."
India Faces Down New Security Calculus
The Saudi Arabia-Pakistan defense pact has a signaling effect on deterrence.
foreignpolicy.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:18 PM
"Even if the partnership with Saudi Arabia fails to deliver in full operational terms, its signaling effect alters the deterrence landscape. India is now up against a Pakistan wholly backed by China, strategically supported by Saudi Arabia, and benefiting from newfound US benevolence under Trump."
PM Modi's tweet on Asia Cup "wasn’t merely tone-deaf celebration. It represented something far more sinister; the deliberate equation of sporting triumph with military conflict, treating cricket victory as an extension of actual warfare where people die."
I write for Gideon and Pete's Cricket et al
I write for Gideon and Pete's Cricket et al
Cricket weaponised: Modi’s dangerous trivialisation of war
Sushant Singh is a lecturer in South Asian studies at Yale University and consulting editor with The Caravan magazine in India. He served in the Indian Army for more than two decades.
www.cricketetal.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:31 PM
PM Modi's tweet on Asia Cup "wasn’t merely tone-deaf celebration. It represented something far more sinister; the deliberate equation of sporting triumph with military conflict, treating cricket victory as an extension of actual warfare where people die."
I write for Gideon and Pete's Cricket et al
I write for Gideon and Pete's Cricket et al
“For a foreign policy premised on diaspora and bipartisan bonds, this is a very public reckoning. The assets Modi so loudly counted on were never tested before. When the time came, they failed.”
I write in The Telegraph (Kolkata) on how all those Modi has hailed in the US didn’t speak for India.
I write in The Telegraph (Kolkata) on how all those Modi has hailed in the US didn’t speak for India.
September 26, 2025 at 7:47 AM
“For a foreign policy premised on diaspora and bipartisan bonds, this is a very public reckoning. The assets Modi so loudly counted on were never tested before. When the time came, they failed.”
I write in The Telegraph (Kolkata) on how all those Modi has hailed in the US didn’t speak for India.
I write in The Telegraph (Kolkata) on how all those Modi has hailed in the US didn’t speak for India.
At cricket et al, I write on the tragedy and farce of India-Pakistan cricket. It goes well beyond the saga of the missing handshakes. "Instead of building fraternal ties and people-to-people contact, the cricket field becomes the site of playing out their nationalist fantasies."
The tragedy and farce of India-Pakistan cricket
Sushant Singh is a lecturer in South Asian studies at Yale University and consulting editor with The Caravan magazine in India. He served in the Indian Army for more than two decades.
www.cricketetal.com
September 16, 2025 at 2:12 AM
At cricket et al, I write on the tragedy and farce of India-Pakistan cricket. It goes well beyond the saga of the missing handshakes. "Instead of building fraternal ties and people-to-people contact, the cricket field becomes the site of playing out their nationalist fantasies."
India's youth unemployment has hit 44.5% (ages 20-24)—higher than Bangladesh, Nepal or Sri Lanka before their governments fell. Over 600,000 Indians emigrated in 2024 alone. Yet Modi's supporters dismiss regional upheavals as "foreign conspiracies." A dangerous blind spot.
I write in The Caravan
I write in The Caravan
India cannot afford to ignore lessons from the recent upheavals in South Asia
India exhibits many of the conditions that preceded the upheavals in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, though at potentially greater scale and intensity.
caravanmagazine.in
September 14, 2025 at 5:21 PM
India's youth unemployment has hit 44.5% (ages 20-24)—higher than Bangladesh, Nepal or Sri Lanka before their governments fell. Over 600,000 Indians emigrated in 2024 alone. Yet Modi's supporters dismiss regional upheavals as "foreign conspiracies." A dangerous blind spot.
I write in The Caravan
I write in The Caravan
Who after Modi? Is Amit Shah the eternal bridesmaid? Who else are the contenders to succeed Modi?
Where Hartosh and I discuss what this reveals about power, succession and democracy in today's India. In The Caravan Long View
Where Hartosh and I discuss what this reveals about power, succession and democracy in today's India. In The Caravan Long View
Beyond Modi: Is Amit Shah the eternal bridesmaid? | The Caravan Long View Ep 4
YouTube video by The Caravan Magazine
www.youtube.com
September 14, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Who after Modi? Is Amit Shah the eternal bridesmaid? Who else are the contenders to succeed Modi?
Where Hartosh and I discuss what this reveals about power, succession and democracy in today's India. In The Caravan Long View
Where Hartosh and I discuss what this reveals about power, succession and democracy in today's India. In The Caravan Long View
The Modi government's response to this crisis in Nepal will signal whether India can adapt to the new realities of South Asian politics or whether it will continue to be surprised by events it should have seen coming.
My column in @themorningcontext.bsky.social themorningcontext.com/chaos/from-k...
My column in @themorningcontext.bsky.social themorningcontext.com/chaos/from-k...
From Kathmandu's ashes: A blueprint for India's regional renaissance
Nepal's democratic uprising offers India a choice to either continue with its failed transactional diplomacy or embrace the patient institution-building that South Asia desperately needs.
themorningcontext.com
September 12, 2025 at 8:48 PM
The Modi government's response to this crisis in Nepal will signal whether India can adapt to the new realities of South Asian politics or whether it will continue to be surprised by events it should have seen coming.
My column in @themorningcontext.bsky.social themorningcontext.com/chaos/from-k...
My column in @themorningcontext.bsky.social themorningcontext.com/chaos/from-k...
मोदी के 11 साल के बाद भारत की विदेश नीति का हाल - अंदरूनी कमज़ोरी का नतीजा, हरकारा online पर निधीश से मेरी थोड़ी लम्बी बातचीत
I truly enjoyed this conversation on India's strategic outlook and global standing after 11 years of Modi as PM (in Hindustani)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChPo...
I truly enjoyed this conversation on India's strategic outlook and global standing after 11 years of Modi as PM (in Hindustani)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChPo...
Trump की दोस्ती, China की दादागिरी: क्या मोदी की विदेश नीति फेल हो गई? | सुशांत सिंह | #Harkara
YouTube video by Harkara हरकारा
www.youtube.com
September 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
मोदी के 11 साल के बाद भारत की विदेश नीति का हाल - अंदरूनी कमज़ोरी का नतीजा, हरकारा online पर निधीश से मेरी थोड़ी लम्बी बातचीत
I truly enjoyed this conversation on India's strategic outlook and global standing after 11 years of Modi as PM (in Hindustani)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChPo...
I truly enjoyed this conversation on India's strategic outlook and global standing after 11 years of Modi as PM (in Hindustani)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChPo...
Sankarshan Thakur, an unparalleled chronicler of our times. RIP.
(Yale hosted him last October as a Poynter Fellow. I was in the discussion on the state of Indian journalism.)
(Yale hosted him last October as a Poynter Fellow. I was in the discussion on the state of Indian journalism.)
September 8, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Sankarshan Thakur, an unparalleled chronicler of our times. RIP.
(Yale hosted him last October as a Poynter Fellow. I was in the discussion on the state of Indian journalism.)
(Yale hosted him last October as a Poynter Fellow. I was in the discussion on the state of Indian journalism.)
Reposted by Sushant Singh
"Modi was on page two [of the People's Daily]. The president or the premier of the Maldives is on page one"
Tells you something of how the Chinese side saw Modi's trip to Tianjin.
@sushantsingh.bsky.social
sinocism.com/p/sharp-chin...
Tells you something of how the Chinese side saw Modi's trip to Tianjin.
@sushantsingh.bsky.social
sinocism.com/p/sharp-chin...
Sharp China: Xi Welcomes Putin and Modi at the SCO Summit; Perspective on the India and China Buzz; World War II and a 'Memory War'
Listen now | This episode of Sharp China is outside the paywall.
sinocism.com
September 6, 2025 at 10:01 AM
"Modi was on page two [of the People's Daily]. The president or the premier of the Maldives is on page one"
Tells you something of how the Chinese side saw Modi's trip to Tianjin.
@sushantsingh.bsky.social
sinocism.com/p/sharp-chin...
Tells you something of how the Chinese side saw Modi's trip to Tianjin.
@sushantsingh.bsky.social
sinocism.com/p/sharp-chin...
Modi’s theatrics with China delivered zilch: on Ladakh, border issues, water data sharing, trade deficit, supply chain blocks, CPEC to Afghanistan, terror, military support to Pak. Chasing optics, Modi lets Xi call the shots
My essay in The Caravan enumerates them caravanmagazine.in/politics/mod...
My essay in The Caravan enumerates them caravanmagazine.in/politics/mod...
In Tianjin, Modi again succumbed to Beijing’s preferred terms
What Prime Minister Narendra Modi friendliness with the Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Chinese president Xi Jinping, during the SCO meeting in Tianjin means.
caravanmagazine.in
September 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Modi’s theatrics with China delivered zilch: on Ladakh, border issues, water data sharing, trade deficit, supply chain blocks, CPEC to Afghanistan, terror, military support to Pak. Chasing optics, Modi lets Xi call the shots
My essay in The Caravan enumerates them caravanmagazine.in/politics/mod...
My essay in The Caravan enumerates them caravanmagazine.in/politics/mod...
Modi’s Tianjin visit is a mirror of India’s domestic decline.
I write in @themorningcontext.bsky.social on how domestic failures— economic inequality, tepid growth, poor R&D, low productivity, declining manufacturing— constrain India's international leverage, forcing reactive diplomacy.
I write in @themorningcontext.bsky.social on how domestic failures— economic inequality, tepid growth, poor R&D, low productivity, declining manufacturing— constrain India's international leverage, forcing reactive diplomacy.
Modi’s Tianjin visit is a mirror of India’s domestic decline
These domestic failures—breeding economic inequality, tepid growth, poor research and development, low productivity and declining manufacturing—eventually constrain India's international leverage, for...
themorningcontext.com
September 5, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Modi’s Tianjin visit is a mirror of India’s domestic decline.
I write in @themorningcontext.bsky.social on how domestic failures— economic inequality, tepid growth, poor R&D, low productivity, declining manufacturing— constrain India's international leverage, forcing reactive diplomacy.
I write in @themorningcontext.bsky.social on how domestic failures— economic inequality, tepid growth, poor R&D, low productivity, declining manufacturing— constrain India's international leverage, forcing reactive diplomacy.
Reposted by Sushant Singh
Mark Carney doesn’t seem to want to ruffle any feathers with respect to India. It’s a “pragmatic pivot from Trudeau’s tough approach,” writes @sushantsingh.bsky.social, “but it has left the fundamental issues driving the bilateral crisis unresolved.” thewalrus.ca/canada-india-pea...
August 21, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Mark Carney doesn’t seem to want to ruffle any feathers with respect to India. It’s a “pragmatic pivot from Trudeau’s tough approach,” writes @sushantsingh.bsky.social, “but it has left the fundamental issues driving the bilateral crisis unresolved.” thewalrus.ca/canada-india-pea...
An extraordinarily high number of gallantry awards were given this Independence Day, but no citations of their acts were released. PM didn't even mention those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during Op Sindoor. This choice of spectacle over substance is dangerous.
I write in the Telegraph
I write in the Telegraph
August 21, 2025 at 3:54 AM
An extraordinarily high number of gallantry awards were given this Independence Day, but no citations of their acts were released. PM didn't even mention those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during Op Sindoor. This choice of spectacle over substance is dangerous.
I write in the Telegraph
I write in the Telegraph
Reposted by Sushant Singh
Smiles and handshakes were part of the diplomatic choreography between India and Canada at the G7 summit. But for @sushantsingh.bsky.social, this didn’t mask the truth: the encounter was driven by economic and political expediency, not genuine reconciliation. thewalrus.ca/canada-india-pea...
August 20, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Smiles and handshakes were part of the diplomatic choreography between India and Canada at the G7 summit. But for @sushantsingh.bsky.social, this didn’t mask the truth: the encounter was driven by economic and political expediency, not genuine reconciliation. thewalrus.ca/canada-india-pea...
"The smiles and firm handshakes between Carney and Modi in June couldn’t mask the underlying reality that this diplomatic rapprochement is built on economic and political expediency, not genuine reconciliation. ...it has left the fundamental issues unresolved."
I write @thewalrus.ca
I write @thewalrus.ca
Canada and India Are Getting Along Again. The Peace Won’t Last | The Walrus
Carney is using economic logic to mend broken ties. But it can’t make up for deep political divisions
thewalrus.ca
August 20, 2025 at 10:55 AM
"The smiles and firm handshakes between Carney and Modi in June couldn’t mask the underlying reality that this diplomatic rapprochement is built on economic and political expediency, not genuine reconciliation. ...it has left the fundamental issues unresolved."
I write @thewalrus.ca
I write @thewalrus.ca
On the conduct and misconduct of elections in New India,
Hartosh and I discuss the role of the Election Commission, their appointment process, ideological predelictions and the dangerous social consequences of its actions.
In @thecaravan.bsky.social #LongView
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nCY...
Hartosh and I discuss the role of the Election Commission, their appointment process, ideological predelictions and the dangerous social consequences of its actions.
In @thecaravan.bsky.social #LongView
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nCY...
How the regime rules: The conduct and misconduct of elections | The Caravan Long View Ep 3
YouTube video by The Caravan Magazine
www.youtube.com
August 18, 2025 at 3:15 PM
On the conduct and misconduct of elections in New India,
Hartosh and I discuss the role of the Election Commission, their appointment process, ideological predelictions and the dangerous social consequences of its actions.
In @thecaravan.bsky.social #LongView
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nCY...
Hartosh and I discuss the role of the Election Commission, their appointment process, ideological predelictions and the dangerous social consequences of its actions.
In @thecaravan.bsky.social #LongView
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nCY...
In t@themorningcontext.bsky.social, I write on the puzzle of why the most populous country in the world, which boasts of being the fourth-largest economy, has such a low global standing and limited influence. Are there some concrete things that can be done to fix this anomaly? #HIY
Why the world’s fourth-largest economy struggles to be heard
On its 79th Independence Day, a road map to reclaim India’s rightful place on the global stage.
themorningcontext.com
August 15, 2025 at 6:13 AM
In t@themorningcontext.bsky.social, I write on the puzzle of why the most populous country in the world, which boasts of being the fourth-largest economy, has such a low global standing and limited influence. Are there some concrete things that can be done to fix this anomaly? #HIY
Trump’s actions have triggered a wide-ranging fallout for India. They threaten the country’s economy and Modi’s dominance of domestic politics — and could lead to geopolitical realignment.
My piece in @financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/33d8...
My piece in @financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/33d8...
What falling out with the US means for India
Trump’s move threatens the country’s economy and Modi’s dominance of domestic politics — and could lead to realignment
www.ft.com
August 12, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Trump’s actions have triggered a wide-ranging fallout for India. They threaten the country’s economy and Modi’s dominance of domestic politics — and could lead to geopolitical realignment.
My piece in @financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/33d8...
My piece in @financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/33d8...
I write @thecaravan.bsky.social on the CAS speech at Bengaluru yesterday that made the headlines. His claim of shooting down PAF fighter jets needs to be examined properly, as also his assertion that there was no political constraint. But most worrying was the speech’s partisan purpose.
The IAF chief’s claims reflect a fusion between Modi’s politics and military messaging
IAF chief AP Singh's claims about downing six Pakistani aircraft do not yet have substantiated evidence.
caravanmagazine.in
August 10, 2025 at 9:29 AM
I write @thecaravan.bsky.social on the CAS speech at Bengaluru yesterday that made the headlines. His claim of shooting down PAF fighter jets needs to be examined properly, as also his assertion that there was no political constraint. But most worrying was the speech’s partisan purpose.