The Tariff War: A Ramayan Allegory of Good versus Evil
Lalit Shastri
As punitive tariffs unsettle the global order, India stands firm. In this modern-day Ramayan, Prime Minister Modi embodies Ram’s resilience, while U.S. President Trump mirrors Ravana’s arrogance. The outcome, as ever, rests with the triumph of dharma over adharma.
The Epic Replayed on a Global Stage
The Ramayan is a mirror of eternal truths. Lord Ram embodies dharma—justice, fairness, and resilience—while Ravana symbolizes arrogance and deceit. Today, Narendra Modi carries forward the mantle of Ram, protecting India’s sovereignty, while Donald Trump, in his second presidential term, stands in the many-headed guise of Ravana, dragging nations into destructive tariff wars.
Just as Ravana’s ten heads symbolized arrogance, Trump’s tariff arsenal reflects duplicity.
The Abduction and the Forced War
The turning point of the Ramayan was Ravana’s abduction of Sita. This single act of tyranny forced Lord Ram into a war he could not avoid. The abduction was coercion at its most brazen—an arrogance that sought to impose submission by force.
In modern times, Trump’s punitive tariffs are the abduction. By imposing them under fraudulent pretexts, Trump has attempted to drag India into a war of economic coercion. Just as Ram could not ignore the abduction of Sita, Modi cannot ignore the abduction of India’s fair trade and sovereignty.
Ravana abducted Sita to force a war; Trump abducts trade itself through tariffs.
The Spark of Rage
Ravana’s fury was compounded further by the episode of his sister, Suparnakha. When she approached Lakshman with her desire to marry him, her advance was brutally rejected, and her nose cut off in humiliation. This insult deepened Ravana’s rage and set his arrogance aflame, feeding the fire of conflict that followed Sita’s abduction.
In today’s parallel, Trump too was provoked when his bluff was exposed. During Operation Sindoor, while he loudly proclaimed that he had brokered peace between India and Pakistan, India had already devastated Pakistani airbases and dismantled their nuclear strike capabilities. By claiming he had sealed the deal, Trump was posturing for the Nobel Peace Prize—but his ill-founded ambition had to bite dust when India’s decisive military action unmasked him before the world. Just as Ravana could not bear Suparnakha’s humiliation, Trump could not endure being unmasked in his quest for false glory.
Trump’s bluff for a Nobel Peace Prize crumbled—much like Ravana’s arrogance after Suparnakha’s humiliation.
The Hypocrisy of Sanctions
Trump’s administration accused India of fueling the Ukraine war through Russian oil imports. Yet under his leadership, U.S. trade with Russia has surged by around 20%, with uranium, palladium, and fertilizers flowing into American markets.
Condemning others while indulging oneself—this is Ravana’s hypocrisy reborn in modern politics.
Arrows Versus Tariffs
Trump’s tariffs are like Ravana’s many heads—each one sprouting new claims, each driven by arrogance. Modi’s firmness, like Ram’s arrows, pierces through the fog of duplicity. India’s refusal to submit is not just national pride—it is dharma in practice.
India’s resilience is its arrow—straight, steady, and impossible to bend.
The Victory of Dharma is Certain
In the Ramayan, Ravana’s power could not save him from the destiny his arrogance created. In the same way, tariff wars born of duplicity cannot endure. India’s endurance ensures that, as in the epic, the battle ends with the triumph of dharma over adharma.
Evil may roar loud, but good endures—and ultimately, prevails.
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