White House trade advisor Peter Navarro has triggered widespread outrage in India with his controversial remark accusing “Brahmins” of “profiteering at the expense of the Indian people” in the context of India’s purchase of Russian oil.

The statement, made during a Fox News interview to justify US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods, including a 25% duty targeting India’s Russian oil imports, was condemned as “casteist” and “sinister” by Indian political leaders across the spectrum. The comment, seen as a deliberate invocation of India’s caste system, has intensified tensions in already strained India-US relations, exacerbated by a breakdown in trade deal talks.

Navarro’s remarks, which also labeled New Delhi a “laundromat for the Kremlin,” drew sharp criticism from Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council, who argued that they reflect 19th-century colonial narratives about India, echoing Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called the statement “shameful and sinister,” rejecting defenses that Navarro referred to the American term “Boston Brahmins,” which denotes wealthy elites. “The usage of the word Brahmin by someone senior in the US Administration cannot come out of the blue in India’s context; this was deliberate,” she stated on X.

Congress leader Pawan Khera dismissed the remarks as “baseless,” while Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose noted the American context of “Brahmin” as a term for elites, though her explanation faced backlash for appearing to defend Navarro.

The controversy follows Navarro’s earlier accusations that India’s oil purchases fuel Russia’s war in Ukraine, a claim India refutes, citing national security and global market dynamics. As India strengthens ties with Russia and China, evident in Modi’s recent SCO summit meetings, Navarro’s remarks underscore a deepening US-India trade rift, drawing condemnation for their cultural insensitivity and perceived anti-India narrative.

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