US President Donald Trump has been saying something regarding India-Pakistan tensions that has stirred quite a controversy across the board. As is often, he has been panned by ‘intellectuals’ in the West for his apparent lack of knowledge of history. What Donald Trump said was that India and Pakistan have been at war with each other for centuries. He made that comment when asked about Operation Sindoor.
Reporter: Any reaction to the attacks between India and Pakistan?
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 6, 2025
Trump: It's a shame. We just heard about it as we were walking in the doors of the oval. Just heard about it. I guess people knew something was going to happen based on a little bit of the past. They've been… pic.twitter.com/lGfWsEZNuL
This isn’t the first time that Donald Trump has made such a remark. Trump said something similar in the last week of April. He had then said that India and Pakistan have had tensions at the border for 1500 years.
Trump: I’m close to India and Pakistan.. They have had that fight for a thousand years in Kashmir. Kashmir has been going on for a thousand years, probably longer than that…
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 25, 2025
Reporter: Are you concerned that there is now tensions on the border?
Trump: There’s been tensions on… https://t.co/zL16dOkkQy pic.twitter.com/41MT6jXoM9
Along expected lines, the US President was panned by every mainstream media and intellectuals. But what he said appears to be something that he has caught on from Indian PM Narendra Modi. In a podcast during the run-up to the US Presidential Elections in 2024, Trump had mentioned PM Modi telling him once, ‘I will do it. We have defeated them for hundreds of years.’ It is evident that PM Modi said the words in the context of Pakistan.
Is Donald Trump Wrong?
While Trump is prone to making outlandish comments many a times, he is not entirely wrong about the nature of the India-Pakistan conflict. It is due to how the modern states of India and Pakistan see themselves in the context of the larger cycle of human civilization.
Pakistan considers itself the modern manifestation of the Islamic invaders that pillaged the lands of India and massacred its people. It is evident in the manner which the Pakistani National Security Establishment conducts itself.
Pakistan names its missiles after invaders such as Abdali, Babur, Taimur, Ghauri and other such invaders. Its leaders constantly boasts about how Muslims have ruled over the Indian Subcontinent for hundreds of years. They draw a clear line of descent from the Islamic invaders of the Middle Ages to the Medieval Era. Pakistan considers itself the manifestation of the Islamic Empires in the Indian Subcontinent in the age of nation-states.
How does India see itself?
India views itself as the descendant of the Great Hindu Civilization. India considers itself a Civilizational State. When PM Modi says that India has defeated Pakistan for ‘hundreds of years’, he means that the Hindu Civilization has always resisted Islamic Invaders and has always succeeded in repelling them.
The current Indian Government idolizes Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the legendary Hindu King who laid the foundation of the Maratha Empire. The Maratha Empire’s greatest legacy is ensuring the downfall of the Mughal Empire in India. It defeated Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in a 27-year War that is not often spoken of.
The Maratha Empire called itself ‘Hindavi Swarajya’, which means ‘self rule of Hindus’. The Empire, in its turn, drew inspiration from the Hindu Empires that came before it. The current Indian Government also considers great Rajput Monarchs such as Maharana Pratap and Assamese Military Heroes such as Lachit Barphukan its ideological ancestors as well.
Conclusion
The India-Pakistan Conflict is a Historical Blood Feud that is playing out on the grand stage of Geopolitics. The two countries represent two sides that have been at war with each other for centuries. The contours of the conflict have changed over the years. The parties to the conflict have transformed from empires to nation-states. The weaponry has been upgraded to match the advancements in Science and Technology.
But at the core of it, the nature of the conflict has remained the same. Therefore, when Donald Trump says that there have been tensions between India and Pakistan for centuries, he is not wrong. Trump is incapable of describing the historical background of the conflict due to his limited vocabulary, which often breeds confusion and bewilderment and leaves the audience perplexed. However, he may be the only world leader who can claim to have a true grasp of the source of the conflict between the nations.
