Modi keeps travelling the world, just not where Trump is

Since the brief but tense military flare-up between India and Pakistan in May this year, one thing has become clear on the international circuit: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears in no hurry to share a stage with Donald Trump.

At the APEC CEO Summit in South Korea this week, the U.S. president once again returned to one of his favorite tales - how he “stopped a nuclear war” between two atomic-armed neighbors after “seven jets went down”. Addressing business leaders, Trump said: “I called Modi and said we won’t make a deal with you. Modi said, ‘No, no, we must make a deal.’ But I told him, ‘We can’t, because you started a war against Pakistan.’”

For months, this retelling has quietly unsettled New Delhi.

Officials close to Modi, according to Bloomberg, have warned that any unscripted encounter with Trump could prove awkward, particularly if the conversation touches on the May conflict or the suggestion that Modi sought Washington’s help to calm it.

With a key state election approaching in Maharashtra, such remarks could easily ripple into domestic politics.

The result has been a notable choreography of absence.

Since the May clashes, Modi has avoided every major forum where Trump has appeared in person - from the UN General Assembly in New York to the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh and most recently, the ASEAN gathering in Kuala Lumpur. Even an earlier White House invitation in June was politely declined.

Elsewhere, though, Modi’s passport has been well stamped. June took him to Cyprus, Canada and Croatia; July saw a whirlwind tour across Africa and Latin America; August brought summits in Tokyo and Beijing. The itinerary, analysts say, sketches a clear pattern: since the end of “Operation Sindoor,” the Indian leader has been everywhere Trump is not.

At home, political opponents have not missed the irony.

Congress’s Jairam Ramesh mocked the prime minister on X, suggesting he had taken inspiration from a Bollywood refrain - Bachke rehna re baba - roughly, “better to stay out of trouble.” Rahul Gandhi, too, has revived his old “Narendra, surrender” jibe, accusing Modi of letting Trump’s boasts go unchallenged.

Indian commentators have offered a more measured reading. Veteran journalist Ramesh Kumar called Modi’s silence “an act of caution rather than fear,” noting that Trump’s unpredictable remarks could easily pull Delhi into unwanted controversy.

Even Gaurav Arya, a right-wing analyst sympathetic to Modi, quipped: “Honestly, who wouldn’t avoid Trump? He can say anything at any time. Sometimes, the smartest move is staying away.”