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Ahmedabad air tragedy puts Boeing back in the dock: How long can this culture of negligence fly?

Rukma Rathore
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Ahmedabad air tragedy puts Boeing back in the dock: How long can this culture of negligence fly?

A London-bound Air India plane struck an Ahmedabad medical staff hostel shortly after takeoff on 12th June and erupted into flames, killing at least 265 people. This is among the greatest air disasters to hit India in recent memory. The jet crashed into buildings inside the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital complex, killing multiple persons on the ground as well.

Several bodies charred to a degree that rendered them unrecognizable. According to Air India, the flight was headed for London’s Gatwick airport and included 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian. There were 242 individuals on board, including 10 cabin crew members and two pilots, on board the doomed Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171).

Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat was among the fatalities. 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, one of the British passengers miraculously survived the massive tragedy and was taken to hospital. “One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families. The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch,” a person told AFP, according to New India Abroad.

The plane’s communication was lost at 1:38 pm local time, less than a minute after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, based on preliminary data. The aircraft achieved a maximum height of 625 feet, in contrast to the airport’s altitude of roughly 200 feet. The plane’s rapid loss of altitude prior to its collision is unclear.

Notably, the catastrophic incident has once again highlighted Boeing’s association with yet another tragic aviation event. Its stock was down about 5% on 12th June when New York stock markets closed. Last year, the company struggled with a safety crisis, quality control problems and a disastrous seven-week strike by the wrokers that cost it around $1 billion each month.

Boeing continues to cope with the fallout from two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019, which claimed 346 lives. Last month, the firm and the Department of Justice came to an agreement that would exempt it from criminal liability for the crashes.

The airplane manufacturer consented to pay a fine, invest in safety and quality initiatives, acknowledge that it obstructed federal oversight and donate to a fund for the family members of the deceased. However, the families have opposed the deal which needs a judge’s permission. The company has encountered significant safety concerns in last few years.

Social media calls out Boeing

The largest airline in Japan, All Nippon Airways received the first Dreamliner in 2011. Air India reportedly runs about three dozen of the more than 1,100 that are currently in operation. The ill-fated aircraft involved in the latest incident was delivered in January 2014.

Netizens pointed out the severe performance shortcomings of its aircraft as the company continues to operate in a dubious manner. Journalist Surya Kanegaonkar noted the questionable history and conduct of the American corporation. He remarked that it uses counterfeit titanium in its aircraft, neglects to address software bugs, persists with defective engineering designs and has disregarded safety standards for years.

He underscored that whistleblowers who exposed Boeing were later discovered dead and how the company give “blood money” to the DoJ to mask offenses and escape legal action. He added that it has a “cushy agreement with Washington to arm twist countries into purchasing their substandard planes. This is Boeing in a nutshell.”

A leaked video from 2014, posted by Sputnik India, reveals Dreamliner assembly workers expressing critical views about the safety of the plane. Al Jazeera released hidden camera footage of Boeing’s Charleston in South Carolina, assembly factory last year. 15 persons were asked if they would fly on the plane they are developing by the person wearing the camera and shockingly ten of them refused.

“I wouldn’t fly on one of these planes because I see the quality of the f***ing sh*t going on here,” one worker expressed candidly. The employee with the wire stated that after witnessing the severity of the situation at the facility, he went to the media. An unidentified whistleblower voiced, “With all the problems reported on the 787, there’s 90% that’s getting swept away and hushed up. It’s an iceberg.”

A netizen referred to Boeing as a “flying coffin” and questioned why the company was not facing inquiries, considering its past performance.

Another journalist emphasized that Boeing whistleblower John Barnett had warned of critical quality issues in the company’s 787 aircraft that could lead to a fatal accident, right before his death.

An account wrote that Boeing sues the pilot if they manage to survive and blame them if they do not, implying at a repetitive cycle of deflecting accountability.

There have been quality issues with the Dreamliner. The plane’s deliveries were suspended for over a year until the Federal Aviation Administration authorized a Boeing proposal in the summer of 2022 to make minor repairs, including replacing some titanium parts that were produced with the wrong material and closing in paper-thin gaps in its body.

According to Boeing at the time, those issues did not immediately affect safety of Dreamliners. Notably, earlier this year, a Dreamliner with registration number N819AN experienced numerous flight cancellations in a 25-day period as a result of hydraulic leaks and flap issues.

Boeing’s troubled legacy

Over the past few years, Boeing has been embroiled in a number of scandals. The two deadly incidents involving the 737 MAX aircraft served as the most important trigger but the effects have gone well beyond that. 346 people were killed when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2019 and Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018 crashed minutes after takeoff.

Lion Air Flight JT 610 went down in the Java Sea off the Indonesian coast on 29th October 2018 and took the lives of all 189 passengers, including many children and crew members. The authorities concluded that one of the primary reasons of the tragedy was the Boeing plane’s design flaws, following a protracted inquiry. MCAS activated during the flight.

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 run by Ethiopian Airlines heading for Nairobi, carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew members, crashed six minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian agency’s conclusion that a major contributing factor in the accident was Boeing’s new flight control software, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System which repeatedly pushed the jet’s nose down.

It was also confirmed by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis. As a result, the 737 MAX fleet was grounded worldwide for more than 20 months.

The Boeing 737-800 operated by China Eastern Airlines crashed and caught fire in Guangxi province when it was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, in March of 2022. President Xi Jinping ordered a swift investigation to find out the reason behind the instance which stunned the country. Afterward, every 737-800 operated by China Eastern Airlines was grounded.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Beijing disagreed with Boeing’s initial explanation of pilot error and blamed the crashes on a malfunctioning Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) design.

A Jeju Air flight 7C2216 belly-landed and went off the end of the runway at Muan International Airport in December 2024, smashing into a wall and exploding. Four of the six crew members and all 175 passengers on board were killed while two crew members were hauled out unharmed. South Korean authorities then declared that they would conduct an urgent safety check on every Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines.

Last November, a cargo plane crashed close to Vilnius airport in Lithuania, resulting in at least one fatality and three injuries. During its final approach for landing, the Spanish cargo airline Swiftair, operating a Boeing 737 for DHL (Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) crashed close to a residence.

Older commercial aircraft models remain in use in Europe because of Boeing’s production delays and dependability issues with its more recent models. Airlines are reluctant to fully rely on newer aircraft models owing to safety concerns and continuous reliability issues, while the compnay’s manufacturing issues create backlog.

A Boeing 737 Max 9 plane’s unused cabin door fell off in midair in January, generating a stir in the aviation industry. The event raised concerns about safety on Boeing aircraft even though no one on the Alaska Airlines flight was gravely hurt. The majority of Boeing 727 Max 9 aircraft were grounded for inspection by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Subsequently, it was revealed that Boeing has been implementing organizational changes to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) over the previous two years.

No end to Boeing’s contentious track record

In March 2013, two fuel leaks caused a Japan Airlines 787 to be grounded. Likewise, a United Airlines 787 aircraft was reported to have problems with its primary batteries. While conducting a thorough investigation, the governments of the United States and Japan both grounded their aircraft fleets.

The Dreamliner was withdrawn from service on the Delhi-Tokyo route after Boeing warned Air India not to fly the aircraft close to high-level thunderstorms in India due to a higher risk of engine icing.

An Air India Delhi-Kolkata 787 airliner returned to Delhi due to a cracked windshield as part of the ongoing safety assessment by the FAA and two further 787 aircraft were grounded since their GE (General Electric) engines were part of the same series that was under probe.

Air India’s Dreamliner fleet experienced 136 minor issues in the 14 months after it was introduced. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the Rajya Sabha, Air India had to replace other aircraft on its route and pay an additional Rs 1.43 crore per day for aircraft financing and pilot maintenance, which resulted in an additional expenditure of Rs 60 lakh per day.

Boeing responded by implementing a 10-day maintenance grounding of all Dreamliner aircraft as part of a “modification package” that included modifications to aircraft software and components.

32 incidents involving engine shutdowns, flight control issues, non-retraction of gear, smoke inside the cabin, communication failure, cracked windshields, cabin pressure problems, severe turbulence, altitude drop, slat malfunction, tire bursts and hydraulic leaks were reported on Air India’s 787 aircraft between 2015 and 2024. Technical problems even caused accidents on two occasions, injuring multiple passengers.

Whistleblowers expose Boeing

Sam Salehpour, a Boeing engineer, expressed serious concerns in 2024 over the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s structural integrity. He suggested the American aircraft manufacturer cut corners when producing the fuselage of the plane and cautioned that this could eventually result in disastrous failures.

He charged in a January 2024 complaint to the FAA that crews had neglected to fill in spaces when assembling separately made fuselage components, reducing the aircraft’s lifespan by increasing wear. He added that engineers were under pressure to approve uninspected work. The FAA is examining these allegations right now.

Salehpour stated, “I want to make clear that I have raised these issues over 3 years. I was ignored. I was told not to create delays. I was told, frankly, to shut up.” He even told US lawmakers that he was threatened and harassed after his accusations on Boeing.

“I literally saw people jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align. By jumping up and down, you’re deforming parts so that the holes align temporarily and that’s not how you build an airplane,” he further outlined.

A similar concern about incorrect assembly had previously been raised in 2021, which caused the FAA and Boeing to stop the delivery of Dreamliners. However, the deliveries were restarted following an FAA investigation and Boeing’s confirmation that it had implemented modifications to its manufacturing process. Over the course of the procedure, no Dreamliners were grounded.

Concerns regarding the South Carolina factory that has been assembling the Dreamliner for years have been publicized by other whistleblowers. One of them was John Barnett, a former quality manager who worked with Boeing for nearly thirty years and came forward in 2019 to voice his worries about subpar standards. He maintained that employees working under duress had been purposefully installing inferior parts on the production line.

After a years-long legal struggle with the corporation, which he claimed was retaliating against him for articulating his concerns, he committed suicide last year. Boeing and Barnett’s family reached a settlement in their lawsuit last month over his passing.

Joshua Dean who served as a quality auditor for Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier for Boeing also passed away. He had complained to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line” at Spirit.

Santiago Paredes, a former Spirit AeroSystems inspector, whose repeated warnings of quality and safety hazards were ignored, went public following the death of Dean.

“But, you know, I’m always looking behind my mirror to make sure nobody’s car’s following me. I’m not saying that I’m scared, but at the same time, I can’t put a blind eye to the reality of what could be. I have to prepare myself for that. I’m picking up the mantle of where he left off and I have to carry on and see it through,” he stressed.

Designed by clowns, supervised by monkeys

According to more than a hundred pages of internal communications provided to congressional investigators in 2020, Boeing employees made fun of federal regulations, discussed misleading regulators and played jokes about possible defects in the 737 Max while it was being developed, reported The New York Times.

Conversations between Boeing pilots and other staff members regarding software bugs and other difficulties with flight simulators for the Max, later involved in two catastrophes in late 2018 and early 2019 that killed 346 people and rocked the firm, were among the damaging texts.

The workers talked about situations where the corporation failed to disclose such issues to the FAA when the regulator certified the simulators used in the creation of the Max and in training pilots who had never flown a 737 before. Employees questioned the Max’s design and even disparaged their own coworkers in another set of messages.

An employee stated, “This airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys,” in 2017. Employees of Boeing repeatedly mocked FAA officials who were examining the aircraft. An investigation by the media house in 2019 used internal emails, documents, and employee interviews to show that Boeing had coerced employees into not reporting safety problems.

DoJ protects Boeing

Boeing and the Justice Department conveniently came to an agreement in May 2024 that would spare the airline giant from criminal punishment for falsifying information to US authorities on the 737 Max airliner prior to two of the planes crashing and killing 346 people. Boeing had to pay or spend more than $1.1 billion under the “agreement in principle,” including an extra $445 million for the family members of the deceased.

The DoJ announced that Boeing would pay more than $1.1 billion in fines and confess to “conspiracy to obstruct and impede” an investigation by the US Federal Aviation Administration, much to the horror of the families of the victims.

A Unites States Senate panel looking into Boeing criticized the aircraft manufacturer’s quality control procedures and the Federal Aviation Administration’s monitoring, September of 2024. It cited papers gathered during the probe. According to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Boeing employees were under pressure to put production speed ahead of quality.

The commitee mentioned, “Given the depth and history of Boeing’s safety deficiencies, its lack of candor with the FAA, and the agency’s reactive regulatory posture, the newly released information raises questions about the effectiveness of the FAA’s oversight of the company.” The FAA initiated multiple inquiries into Boeing.

97 Boeing allegations of noncompliance were detailed in the 116-page FAA letter which covered “issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control.” According to the memo, the audit uncovered 23 instances in which staff members “failed to follow processes or lacked proficiency.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that over 200 reports were filed by Boeing whistleblowers in a 12-month period last year. Boeing has a “culture of concealment,” announced US congressional investigations.

Boeing’s market capitalization declined dramatically in the last five years, falling by over 30% due to regulatory scrutiny, financial losses and safety issues with its 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner aircraft, among other reasons. Over the past few years, Boeing’s top executive team has experienced a rather major shake-up. A year ago, Kelly Ortberg, the company’s new boss stepped out of retirement to try to turn around the struggling corporation.

Donald Trump tells Iran to make a nuclear deal “before there is nothing left”, says Israel’s next planned attack will be even more brutal

OpIndia Staff
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Donald Trump tells Iran to make a nuclear deal “before there is nothing left”, says Israel’s next planned attack will be even more brutal

As Israel launched a massive attack on military sites in Iran, US President Donald Trump on Friday warned Iran to accept a deal of face the consequences. He said that Israel has American weapons which are best in the world, and claimed that Israel’s next planned attack will be even more brutal.

Saying “just do it, before it is too late,” Trump said that Iran must make a deal before there is nothing left.

In a post on his Truth Social, Donald Trump said that he gave Iran several chances to make a deal, but they couldn’t get it done. He said that he had warned that the attack will be much worse than they anticipated, but certain Iranian hardliners rejected a deal. Trump added that such hardliners are dead now.

He said, “I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to “just do it,” but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it. Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!”

The US president said that it will only get worse, adding that the next already planned attacks being even more brutal. However, he said that there is time to stop the Israeli attack, and for that Iran has to make a deal. He said, “There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.”

Donald Trump added in the Truth post, “No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All!”

Locals line up to donate blood in true ‘Amdavadi spirit’, Vantara sends doctors, RSS organises seva after the Ahmedabad plane crash

OpIndia Staff
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Locals line up to donate blood in true ‘Amdavadi spirit’, Vantara sends doctors, RSS organises seva after the Ahmedabad plane crash

As the country was engulfed with grief after the tragic Ahmedabad plane crash, the support and the sense of service of the people of Ahmedabad provided some positivity among the chaos. Immediately after the plane crash, locals flocked to help in the rescue and relief work at the crash site.

As the injured were undergoing treatment at the hospitals, several among the injured needed blood. Many NGOs appealed to people to donate blood, and in no time the locals gathered in large number for blood donation. Many pictures and videos of the people of Ahmedabad turning up in large numbers for blood donation are going viral on social media.

Speaking to OpIndia, Zeal Shah, Founder of Sahay Foundation said, “Whatever happened in our city yesterday was extremely heart-wrenching. As soon as the news of this tragic incident broke out, the spirit of service of the people of Ahmedabad came to the fore as always. As soon as our Sahay Foundation and many other NGOs posted on social media for blood donation, the people of Ahmedabad immediately responded.”

“Our NGO workers reached Red Cross and a group of Ahmedabad locals started arriving there to donate. In the first 2 hours, about 300 people contacted us and reached here. Since Red Cross was short of staff, our workers including Sagar and Parthil also helped them in their work and by the evening we collected more than 900 units of blood here. The same situation was with every other lab and blood bank,” Shah said.

“People always talk about the ‘spirit of Mumbai’, but we have been working in this field for the last many years, so we know that the ‘spirit of Ahmedabad’ is equally strong,” he added.

According to the available information, there were 600 units of blood in the Civil Hospital, after which 500 units were sent from Red Cross. Not only this, in just 2 hours, 350 people reached the Civil Hospital to donate blood. After waiting for hours, they donated blood.

RSS workers remained on ground round the clock

RSS volunteers also provided their unwavering support during the time this unfortunate tragedy. Their volunteers remained on duty for 24 hours and kept performing ‘seva yagya’.

An RSS official from Ahmedabad told OpIndia that the volunteers of the Sangh reached for service as soon as the incident of plane crash came to light. According to him, RSS volunteers offered their services in two phases. He further said that 176 volunteers directly performed the seva yagya. Apart from this, more than 250 volunteers also remained on duty.

The volunteers participated in a range of activities from rescuing injured people to managing the traffic. They also helped in collecting DNA samples and also took care of over 2000 people including the families of the deceased and provided them refreshments. An RSS official said that food was arranged for the people with the help of Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple. The volunteers coordinated with the administration and the police department to help in the relief work.

Vantara sends team of doctors

Anant Ambani’s organization Vantara assisted in the relief work by sending a team of doctors to Ahmedabad. Apart from this, Vantara’s ambulance service was also opened for Ahmedabad. The organisation also rescued and provided treatment to birds and animals injured in the accident.

The Print journalist Amana Begum Ansari blames Raja Raghuvanshi murder solely on caste even before motive is known, ignores stark socio-economic realities

Shraddha Pandey
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The Print journalist Amana Begum Ansari blames Raja Raghuvanshi murder solely on caste even before motive is known, ignores stark socio-economic realities

The Raja Raghuvanshi murder case has sent shockwaves across the country. While more and more disturbing details of the horrific saga of betrayal are emerging, the usual suspects have found a way to insert their anti-Hindu agenda even in a case devoid of any caste or religious angle. In this vein, The Print published an op-ed authored by Amana Begum Ansari, titled: “Question nobody’s asking on Meghalaya murder: Why is inter-caste love a rebellion in India?”

In this article, Amana bashed the Indian right-wing social media and their supposed anti-feminist views. She then proceeded to blame reservations in the traditional Hindu society about inter-caste marriages for Raja and Sonam’s alleged forced marriage which ultimately led to Raja’s brutal murder.

“While details are still emerging in the Meghalaya honeymoon murder case, current reports suggest that the bride couldn’t marry the man of her choice—perhaps because Sonam is a Raghuvanshi, and Raj, her family’s employee, belongs to the Kushwaha community. This begs a crucial question: Why is choice, and inter-caste love, still a rebellion in India?” ThePrint article reads.

Amana Begum Ansari further argues that this “tragedy” could have been averted if Sonam Raghuvanshi was not denied her choice marrying a person of her choice instead of the one chosen by her family.

“Could this tragedy have been averted had choice not been denied? Yes, the accused are criminals if proven guilty, and murder couldn’t have been the only solution to their problem. But at the same time, they were, like many others, cornered by a system of traditions that allows no escape within its own logic. And unless we’re willing to talk about that system, we’ll just keep seeing more of the same,” Ansari writes.

While several media reports have claimed that accused Sonam Raghuvanshi and Raj Kushwaha were in a relationship and that the duo along with other accused persons plotted Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder in Meghalaya, the family of Sonam and Raj have said that the duo were brother-sister and not involved romantically.

Sonam Raghuvanshi’s brother Govind told the media that Raj Kushwaha used to get Rakhi tied around his wrist from Sonam in his presence. Govind also said that Raj used to call Sonam “Didi” (term used in Hindi for elder sister). Accused Raj Kushwaha’s mother and his sisters have also said the same.

“Raj was just our employee. He was working in our office for two-three years. He used to manage the office and handle clients,” Govind added.

Based on the facts that have emerged so far, it does not seem like Raj Kushwaha was Sonam’s boyfriend, rather the duo shared a brother-sister-like relationship. Thus, there is no question of an ‘upper-caste’ Sonam Raghuvanshi being denied her choice to marry a man who belongs to Kushwaha community, who come OBC category. Perhaps, Amana needs to understand that marrying sister is not a normal in Hindu community, as it is in her community.

The only question that ThePrint columnist should focus on is why does she has to rake up ‘inter-caste rebellion’ angle in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case when it is not even clear properly yet as to who is Sonam’s boyfriend. Even if it is assumed that Raj and Sonam indeed wanted to get married, it is highly likely that Sonam’s family may have not been fine with she marrying younger boy with much less income, whose family are not financially of the same level as the Raghuvanshi family.

Since Raj and his family had good relations with Sonam’s family, so much so that Sonam tied Rakhi to Raj, as claimed by Sonam’s brother and Raj’s mother, the ‘caste’ angle ThePrint columnist is trying to rake up does not make much sense.

ThePrint columnist is solely blaming caste and ignoring stark socio-economic realities and is insinuating that had there been no opposition to inter-caste marriage, Sonam would have not been forced to succumb family pressure to marry Raja, then conspire to kill her husband while on honeymoon, and could have married Raj Kushwaha instead.

This, however, is not the first time that Amana Ansari demonstrated her prejudice against Hindus. In January this year, she penned an article for ThePrint wherein she argued that Hindu rights groups like Bajrang Dal and those opposed to Christian missionaries converting Dalits and tribals to Christianity by offering financial inducements should focus on the social and economic assimilation and upliftment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, ensuring dignity, equality, and opportunities within their existing faith and society. She, however, failed to explain why Dalits who convert to Christianity demand Scheduled Caste (SC) status, if obtaining dignity, attaining freedom from caste discrimination they supposedly faced earlier as Hindu Dalits was the point of conversion.

When 240 lives aren’t enough: How for ‘woke liberals’, the victimhood priority still goes to ‘Muslims’. Read about the Left’s moral collapse over Ahmedabad plane crash

Jinit Jain
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When 240 lives aren’t enough: How for ‘woke liberals’, the victimhood priority still goes to ‘Muslims’. Read about the Left’s moral collapse over Ahmedabad plane crash

On June 12, 2025, a tragic Air India crash near Ahmedabad shook the nation. Over 240 lives were lost — mothers, fathers, children, and countless stories ended abruptly in a fiery disaster that should have united the country in grief and reflection. But for a certain segment of India’s liberal intelligentsia and their online echo chambers, mourning the dead was secondary. The real tragedy, according to them, would have been if the pilot had been a Muslim.

Yes, a horrifying incident that claimed the lives of more than 240 people didn’t evoke sentiments of solidarity and grief. Instead, vultures used the tragedy to peddle their narrow ideological agendas, with some using the charade of “demanding accountability” to further their aversion of the Modi government while their other ideological counterparts using it as an opportunity to claim what they have mastered all their lives: Muslim victimhood.

One would be inclined to dismiss such antics as depraved attempts at engagement farming, following the social media culture of chasing limelight and impress substance even if it none exist, most notably illustrated by the recent case of Saket Gokhale — a full-time online troll turned Rajya Sabha member — who was recently forced to apologise for his libelous online remarks against a former diplomat.

But such preposterous online discourse has been going on for far too long to be dismissed as a mere impetuous activity in grabbing social media attention. On the contrary, it is a sign of the deepening moral decay afflicting India’s Left ecosystem, one that warrants urgent discussion and debate. 

As the country grappled with the horror of the crash, social media saw a peculiar — and deeply disturbing — reaction from some so-called “liberal” voices. Prominent among them was one Amit Behere, a self-styled commentator known more for his crude outbursts than meaningful analysis. Instead of expressing condolences, he tweeted: “Imagine if the pilot was a Muslim. Just imagine. And thank God he was not.” He went on to abuse the Prime Minister in derogatory terms, blaming him and his supporters for the very fact that this thought even crossed his mind.

Source: X

This statement was not only insensitive but a damning example of the ideological rot that has infested the liberal discourse in India. Over 240 Indians had perished, but the first thought from this gentleman and others like him wasn’t about the victims, the cause of the crash, or the grieving families — it was a hypothetical scenario of communal victimhood.

Let’s be clear: the pilot’s religion, whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, or Christian, should not — and did not — matter in the wake of such a tragedy. But in the minds of many left-leaning commentators, identity politics must override everything. That’s the poison that keeps them alive; preventing them from slipping into oblivion and presenting an opportunity to animate their dwindling support base. For them, every event must be squeezed through a communal lens, and every tragedy must be converted into an opportunity to portray Muslims as perpetual victims, regardless of facts.

Amit Behere is not an anomaly. He merely represents a wider pattern where some elites have internalised the belief that unless Muslims are framed as victims in every news cycle, every report is a product of ‘Godi media’ —a pejorative that the leftwing outrage machinery employs to suppress hard facts that undermine their narratives. This mindset is not only reductive — it is dangerous. It sidelines real issues, erodes empathy, and replaces genuine humanitarian concern with toxic identity politics.

Imagine being the family member of a victim, scrolling through social media only to see people like Behere obsessing over the religion of the pilot rather than mourning your loved one. Imagine the arrogance and entitlement it takes to use the smouldering wreckage of a plane crash as a soapbox for political grievance-mongering.

This is the perverse moral compass of woke liberalism in India today. It does not see Indians as individuals — it sees only boxes: Hindu, Muslim, upper caste, lower caste, oppressed, oppressor. It does not seek truth — it seeks victimhood validation. And if real events don’t fit the narrative, hypotheticals are invented, as Behere did, to stoke fear, resentment, and anti-government sentiment.

It is also telling that Behere tries to shift the blame for his own twisted thoughts onto the ruling dispensation. “That this thought is forced to cross our mind,” he laments, as if expressing bigotry is justifiable so long as it is cloaked as a response to others. This is classic liberal gaslighting — project your own biases onto society and claim you’re merely a reflection of the environment. It’s cowardice masquerading as insight.

The larger issue here is the weaponisation of tragedy. Whether it’s a terror attack, a natural disaster, or now a plane crash, there’s a disturbing pattern where large sections of the Left and their Islamist fellow travellers use every misfortune as an opportunity — not for unity, not for empathy, but for political mileage. Their toolkit is predictable: communalise the narrative, blame the majority, question the government, and elevate minority victimhood — even if it means completely disregarding the actual victims.

This is what happened when 26 people, all but one Hindus, lost their lives in a ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam earlier this year. The terrorists, believed to be from Islamist terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, identified victims as Hindus, often forcing them to strip to check for circumcision before shooting them point blank. It was an open and shut case of Muslim terrorists killing Hindu tourists. But even then, these hate merchants shamelessly found a way to paint Muslims as victims of the tragedy, brazenly highlighting how the attack has spawned a new wave of “Islamophobia” in the country. 

What such incidents reveal is an utter inability to view incidents from a neutral, dispassionate, human perspective. Human lives are stripped of the kaleidscope of emotions and overlaying identities they embody. Instead, they are reduced to the binary setting of the oppressed and the oppressing. For this ideological cabal, the default framework is always oppression. In their world, Muslims must be seen as threatened, Hindus as aggressors, and the BJP-led government as the architect of all evil — regardless of the facts on the ground.

But when 240 lives are lost in a catastrophic air crash and the first instinct is to ask, “What if the pilot was Muslim?” — we’re not dealing with concern. We’re dealing with obsession. An obsession with identity, with grievance, with imaginary persecution. An obsession so deep that it drowns out the cries of the actual victims.

What makes this worse is the silence of the so-called moderate liberals. Not one prominent voice among them condemned this perverse shift in narrative. Not one op-ed was written chastising those who hijacked the grief of hundreds to spin a communal fantasy. This silence isn’t just complicity — it’s consent.

As a nation, we must ask: how did we get here? How did we reach a point where a national tragedy becomes a playground for ideological vendetta? How did a tragedy that should have united us instead become another wedge driven between communities, thanks to the imagination of people who see India as nothing more than a battlefield of perpetual oppression? Who is responsible for this moral decay among the Left intelligentsia?

Surely, personal integrity, honesty, and adherence to moral principles is independent of who is in power and their style of functioning. 

There is still time to reclaim our collective sanity. But to do so, we must first call out and reject this perverse strain of pseudo-liberalism that thrives on division, relativism, and emotional blackmail. We must return to a politics of truth, not hypotheticals. A politics of unity, not manufactured victimhood.

Because if even in the face of mass death, we cannot unite in grief, then the rot is far deeper than we imagine — and the tragedy, far greater than we fear.

Supreme Court orders release of journalist Kommineni Srinivasa Rao, who was arrested by Andhra Police after a panellist on his show called Amaravati the ‘capital of prostitutes’

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court orders release of journalist Kommineni Srinivasa Rao, who was arrested by Andhra Police after a panellist on his show called Amaravati the ‘capital of prostitutes’

The Supreme Court granted bail to journalist Kommineni Srinivasa Rao on Friday (13th June), who was arrested by Andhra Pradesh Police for some derogatory remarks made by a panellist during his talk show aired on Sakshi TV. Rao was arrested from Hyderabad on June 9 and was remanded to judicial custody.

A Bench of Justices PK Mishra and Manmohan granted him relief citing that he did not himself make the statement and that his right to speech needs to be protected. “Considering that petitioner himself has not made the statement and his journalistic participation in a live TV show needs to be protected and his freedom of speech is also to be protected, petitioner is to be released on bail,” the court said allowing Rao’s writ petition.

The journalist was arrested on 9th June after a panelist on his show allegedly described Amaravati as the ‘capital of prostitutes’ where ‘only AIDS patients live’. A complaint was filed against the incident claiming that sentiments of women were hurt. The complaint alleged that Rao did not object to the remark and instead laughed over it.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, who was appearing for the petitioner, submitted before the apex court that Rao could not be held accountable for the panelist’s remarks. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the State, countered Dave saying that Rao was abetting the man who made the remarks. “He was laughing,” said Rohatgi.

However, the court was not staisfied with the State’s argument. It questioned how could the petitioner be arrested because of someone’s else’s statements. “Someone else is making the statement. How can this be?” Justice Manmohan asked Rohatgi, who responded, “He was goading and abetting the man who was making the statement. He was laughing.”

The Supreme Court said that the petitioner cannot be treated like a co-conspirators for merely laughing at an outrageous statement. “When someone makes an outrageous statement, we laugh it off. They can’t be termed co-conspirators. Everyday this is happening,” the court said.

After hearing the arguments of both sides, the Supreme Court granted bail to the petitioner citing his age and the reason that he did not make the statement. However, the court warned Rao not to involve himself in any defamatory statement or allow anyone to make such statements on his show.

“Considering that the petitioner himself has not made any such statement and his journalistic participation in a live TV show deserves to be protected so that the freedom of speech is also protected in the process, we direct that the petitioner shall be released in relation to the FIR…subject to the conditions to be imposed by the trial court. It is made clear that the petitioner shall not involve himself in any defamatory statement either by himself or by allowing others to make such statements in his presence in the show which the petitioner is anchoring or hosting,” the court ordered.

Kerala HC orders arrest of sister ship to recover cost of raw cashew nuts carried by MSC Elsa-3 that had sunk near Kerala coast

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala HC orders arrest of sister ship to recover cost of raw cashew nuts carried by MSC Elsa-3 that had sunk near Kerala coast

The Kerala High Court on Thursday ordered the arrest of a container ship to recover to cost cargo carried by MSC Elsa-3 ship which sank near Kerala coast recently. The court ordered that MSC Manasa-F, owned by the same company, should be arrested till the company makes payment to the petitioners to compensate for their loss.

Justice MA Abdul Hakhim issued the order after considering five suits filed by five different buyers of raw cashew nuts which were being transported by the sunken ship. The court ordered seizure of a ship of the company because it has no asset in India that can be seized.

The court ordered, “The vessel of the 1st respondent by name “M.V. MSC MANASA F” (IMO 9238882), Flying Flag of Liberia, along with her hull, tackle, engine, machinery spares, gear, apparel, paraphernalia, furniture, etc., presently anchored in the Vizhinjam Port is ordered to be arrested until INR.1,54,71,443/- is deposited by the 1st respondent in this Court or until security for the said amount is furnished by the 1st respondent to the satisfaction of this Court.”

The court clarified that arrest order will be withdrawn automatically after the amount is deposited or security is furnished.

The petitioners have claimed that MSC Elsa-3 carrying containers filled with their raw cashew nuts sank because of technical problems, poor maintenance, and wrong loading of cargo. They also alleged that the crew members were careless.

They therefore prayed that the company’s sister ship, currently in India, should be seized till payment to them are made. The five petitioners have a claim of around ₹6 crore as compensation.

While the court order on 12 June states that the ship is anchored in the Vizhinjam Port and it should be arrested there, actually the vessel left the port on that day itself. As per ship tracking site vesselfinder, MSC Manasa-F departed from the port at 11:21 on 12th June, and is heading to Haldia port. The ship is scheduled to reach Haldia in West Bengal on 17th June. At present the ship can be spotted on southern coast of Sri Lanka.

MSC ELSA 3  carrying 640 containers capsized near Alappuzha off Kerala coast in the early hours of 25th May. Its crew members were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard.

Calcutta High Court commutes death sentence of man who stabbed ex-girlfriend 45 times, cites ‘rarest of the rare’ doctrine: Here is why such verdicts are problematic

OpIndia Staff
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Calcutta High Court commutes death sentence of man who stabbed ex-girlfriend 45 times, cites ‘rarest of the rare’ doctrine: Here is why such verdicts are problematic

On 11th June, the Calcutta High Court commuted the death sentence of a man, convicted of killing his former girlfriend by stabbing her 45 times, to life imprisonment. While passing the order, the High Court noted that the case did not fall in the category of the ‘rarest of the rare’ cases.

A bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi converted the death penalty of convict Susanta Chowdhury into a life sentence observing that there was a possibility of reformation in him.

“Taking into consideration the entire facts and circumstances of the present case including the ratio of the authorities relating to death penalty as also sentence of life imprisonment without remission, in our view, interest of justice would be subserved by commuting the death penalty to one of life imprisonment without the possibility of remission for another 40 years from the date of arrest of the appellant,” the bench said in its judgment dated 11th June.

The Background of the Case

Chowdhary had appealed before the High Court against his conviction and death sentence. He was arrested in May 2022 in for killing his 21-year-old former girlfriend when she was returning from a movie.

Disgruntled over his failed relationship with her, he killed her in an extremely brutal manner by stabbing her 45 times.

When examining the witness statments, the court noted that the crime was committed because of animosity between the accused and the victim. He had been threatening the victim as she had entered into a new relationship.

The court further noted that the convict did not release the victim as she was trying to defend herself. She fell to the ground after suffering wounds. Eyewitnesses unsuccessfully tried to save the victim from Chowdhary.

However, the High Court reduced his punishment after considering his appeal observing that he did not have any prior criminal record and that the prosecution could not establish that the murder was committed with the intention of creating a fear psychosis in the public.

Other instances of courts commuting death sentences

This is not the only case where the death sentence of a convict has been commuted by a court. In several other cases, courts have commuted the death sentences of convicts for the crimes committed by them not fitting the ‘rarest of the rare’ category.

In April this year, the Supreme Court commuted the death penalty of a man convicted of brutally murdering his entire family, including his wife and 4 children, in Kerala and raping his own daughter.

The top court reduced his penalty to life imprisonment on the grounds, including ‘significant improvement’ in his conduct during his imprisonment, his childhood trauma due to neglect and family instability, and lack of any criminal history.

Similarly, in December 2024, the Chhattisgarh High Court commuted the death sentence of a 34-year-old man to a life sentence. The man was convicted of killing his wife and three children. The High Court cited the same reason of the case not fitting in the ‘rarest of the rare’ category.

In another case, in April 2023, the Supreme Court converted the capital punishment of a 31-year-old man into life sentence for murdering his sister and her lover. At the time of the murders, the convict was 25 years old. The Supreme Court noted that the convict was “well-behaved” and without a criminal mindset.

The problematic implications of such verdicts

Cases like these, where courts show the convicts of brutal crimes leniency, often leave an impression on the minds of people that perhaps the ‘reformation’ or the ‘future prospects’ of convicts weigh more in the minds of judges than the rights of innocent victims.

Often times, the courts’ opinion of whether a crime was shocking or brutal enough to attract capital punishment does not seem to concur with collective feeling of the society.

Inside ‘Operation Rising Lion’: Israel launches pre-emptive strike against Iran, neutralises top commanders to foil nuclear threat, Ali Khamenei vows revenge

Shraddha Pandey
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Inside ‘Operation Rising Lion’: Israel launches pre-emptive strike against Iran, neutralises top commanders to foil nuclear threat, Ali Khamenei vows revenge

On 12th June this year, Israel launched massive strikes against Iran, targeting its nuclear facilities, military commanders and ballistic missile facilities under ‘Operation Rising Lion’.

Israel attacked Iran, given the existential threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Iranian media reported that loud explosions were heard at the country’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz.

Image via AP

In the Israeli attacks, the top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami was killed and unit’s headquarters in Tehran had been hit. Senior Revolutionary Guards commander Gholam Ali Rashid and top nuclear scientists were also killed in the Israeli strikes.

Israel also targeted the city of Khondab, where a heavy water nuclear reactor is located, and Khoramabad, the site of a ballistic missile base.

Building in Tehran damaged in Israeli strikes (Image via AP)

Israel calls attack on Iran ‘pre-emptive strike’ to damage Iran’s nuclear program

In a statement, a spokesperson of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said that Israel launched a “precise, pre-emptive strike”.

The spokesperson BG Effie Defrin said on Friday the strikes aimed at damaging Iran’s nuclear program and in response to the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression against Israel.

“For years, the Iranian regime has called for the destruction of the State of Israel, planning and advancing concrete military plans to do so. Over the past few months, intelligence has shown that Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. This morning, the IDF began pre-emptive and precise strikes targeting the Iranian nuclear program in order to prevent the Iranian regime’s ability to build a nuclear bomb in the immediate timeframe,” he said.

He said the airstrikes were aimed at protecting Israel’s right to exist and for their future. “We have no choice. We are operating against an imminent and existential threat. We cannot allow the Iranian regime to obtain a nuclear weapon that would be a danger to Israel and the entire world. This operation is for our right to exist here, for our future and for our children’s future. The State of Israel has the right and the obligation to operate in order to protect its people and will continue to do so,” he said.

Defrin said that Israel is prepared in both- offensive as well as defensive way to defend itself. “The IDF conducted significant preparations for this operation. We are well prepared both in defence and offense to defend ourselves. The IDF will continue to defend the State of Israel,” he said.

Meanwhile, as per The Times of Israel, blasts were heard in Natanz city in Iran’s central province of Isfahan, where a key nuclear site is located, Iranian state TV reported.

“Loud explosions were heard in Natanz,” which hosts one of the main uranium enrichment facilities, Times of Israel quoted state TV reports. Iran has two underground nuclear sites, at Fordo and Natanz, and has been building tunnels in the mountains near Natanz since suspected Israeli sabotage attacks targeted that facility.

A complex at the heart of Iran’s enrichment program on a plain abutting mountains outside the Shi’ite Muslim holy city of Qom, south of Tehran. Natanz houses facilities including two enrichment plants: the vast, underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) and the above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP), as per The Times of Israel.

“Never again is now”: Israeli Prime Minister says offensive against Iran will continue until the nuclear threat is removed

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday announced the launch of a large-scale military campaign, Operation Rising Lion , aimed at dismantling what he described as an existential threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

The main known facilities of Iran’s nuclear programme (Image via Reuters)

Netanyahu said Israel had struck multiple high-value Iranian targets in a decisive first strike. “Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel ‘s very survival,” he said, adding that the mission would continue “for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

The Prime Minister of Israel accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons programme in defiance of global warnings, pointing to enriched uranium stockpiles capable of producing multiple nuclear bombs.

“In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs. Nine,” he noted, warning that Tehran had taken “steps to weaponise this enriched uranium” and could develop a nuclear weapon within months.

Netanyahu likened the current moment to the prelude to World War II, referencing the Holocaust and past global inaction in the face of rising threats. “Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were the victims of a holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi regime. Today, the Jewish state refuses to be a victim of a nuclear holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime,” he said.

Iran vows revenge

Meanwhile, Iran is expected to launch a massive retaliatory attack on Israel. In a statement, Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Israel has “unleashed its wicked and bloody” hand in a crime against Iran and that it would receive “a bitter fate for itself”.

“With this crime, the Zionist regime has brought a bitter and painful fate upon itself, and it will certainly face it,” Khamenei said.

“By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished,” he added.

US denies involvement, oil prices surge as another war looms over the Middle East

Predictably, just as it denied involvement in Ukraine’s recent massive drone strikes on Russia destroying its 40 warplanes, the United States has denied having information of Israel’s strikes against Iran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said that the strikes undertaken by Israel were “unilateral” and that US’ priority is now to protect the American forces in the region. Rubio said that Israel said that the strikes were done in the spirit of self-defence. He said that Iran must not harm US interests or personnel.

In a statement, Rubio said, “Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel.”

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said that the US remained committed to a diplomatic resolution to the Iran issue. In a post on Truth Social, he said, “We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Meanwhile, oil prices skyrocketed by 9 per cent, highest in five months, after Israel attacked Iran.  With Iran and Israel heading towards full-fledged war, the Middle East is set to witness another round of unrest and the world might grapple with disrupted oil supplies.

As India is considering Russian fifth generation Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jets, here’s why buying American F-35 instead of Su-57 makes no sense for India

Shraddha Pandey
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As India is considering Russian fifth generation Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jets, here’s why buying American F-35 instead of Su-57 makes no sense for India

In a high-stake chess game of military modernisation and geopolitics, India is reportedly actively considering Russia’s proposal of supplying the Sukhoi Su-57E fifth generation aircraft and make the same in India. While India is reported not be heeding American offer to buy the F-35 jets, a question arises that why India is not showing interest in acquiring F-35, which is touted as the crown jewel of Western defence.

India’s tilt towards acquiring Russian Su-57E over American F-35, is not a matter of mere procurement choice, rather, it is shaped by decades of trust in Moscow’s defence partnership and key offer of technology transfer against the US delivery delays and disregard for strategic defence autonomy of the importer nation.

As Pakistan and its foster father China are deepening defence ties, especially in context of advanced stealth fighters after India’s successful Operation Sindoor, India’s pivot towards Russian Su-57E comes across as a mover towards securing its skies while also asserting its quest for self-reliance in a globally volatile global order.

Russian Su-57

However, before delving into whether India should go for Su-57 or F-35, it is essential to understand why India needs to immediately modernize its Air Force.

Why India must modernise its Air Force

While India Air Force (IAF) successfully carried out anti-terror Operation Sindoor in Pakistan, demonstrating sheer tactical brilliance, the IAF is grappling with a shortfall in its fighter jet capabilities. Currently, the operates 31 squadrons, which is significantly below the sanctioned strength of 42, at a time when India’s cash-strapped neighbour Pakistan is in panic mode and set to acquire Chinese J-35 stealth fighters.

Besides, India is also phasing out its ageing fleet including MiG-21, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 fighters, and India needs to diversify its fleet by not relying only on French Rafales. The delays in indigenous programs like the Tejas and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), exacerbate the urgency to purchase fifth-generation fighter to bridge the capability gap.

Notably, DRDO is developing the fifth generation AMCA fighter jet, but this project is not expected to be completed before 2035. With Pakistan set to start receiving China’s J-35A 5th-Gen multirole stealth fighter this year itself, 10 years will be a too long wait for Indian Air Force for its own 5th generation stealth fighter jet.

Since Pakistan’s de facto ruler—the Pakistan Army—has increased defence budget by 18 to 20 per cent even as the hostile neighbour is dependent on IMF loans for sustaining it’s dwindling economy and balance-of-payments, it is evident that they are preparing for another round of conflict with India in the near future.

Notably, while DRDO has started developing the AMCA, the first jets are not expected before 2035. After completing the order of Tejas LCA Mark-1 aircraft, HAL will start making the Tejas LCA Mark-1 aircraft from around 2028-29, and the first generation of AMCA will take more than 10 years to reach the production stage. This is because, any fighter jet takes around 10-15 years to develop, and the AMCA was approved just last year.

Why purchasing American F-35 makes no sense for India

India is among the major countries which procure defence items from both Russia and the United States. While Moscow has been India’s most trusted defence partner, the US uses defence deals as means to arm twist India into aligning to its interests. India has faced significant delays in the delivery of US-made defence equipments, especially the General Electric (GE) F404 engines for the indigenously developed Tejas Mk-1A light combat aircraft.

The deal for GE F414 engines for Tejas Mk-2 fighters is also not progressing, even though the MoU was signed two years ago. The deal is set to include technology transfer and manufacturing in India. With president Trump’s insistence on manufacturing in USA, it is not sure whether he will allow these provisions to be implmented. He has already asked Apple to not phones in India, therefore, the possibility of him allowing making GE engines in India may not be very high.

Moreover, the US has also been delaying the delivery of Boeing-made Apache attack helicopters meant for the Indian Army. In March 2024, the Indian Army raised a squadron 451 Army Aviation Squadron at Nagtalao near Jodhpur, in anticipation of the delivery of Apache helicopters, however, the US delayed it citing supply-chain disruption and technical issues. The delivery was expected in May-June 2024 but it was delayed to December 2024 and even that deadline was missed by the United States.

This $600 million deal was signed in 2020 for six Apache helicopters, while two deadlines have been missed for the delivery of the first batch of three helicopters, the US has not given any clear indication regarding when will these heicopters delivered and the reason behind this disproportionate delay.

While the US gives ‘supply chain disruption’ and ‘technical issues’ as the excuse behind the delay in delivery, it is their typical arm-twisting tactic. These delays are caused deliberately to exert pressure on India. The delay comes at a time when the Indian Army Aviation Corps is rapidly modernising its aerial assets. With heightened military tensions post Operation Sindoor, India is focusing on combat readiness, and for that, Apache helicopters are crucial since these are equipped with advanced weapon targeting mechanisms and heavy weaponry. However, the US is not prioritising its delivery to India and is missing deadlines one after the other.

Russia, in contrast, has quite a punctual track record of delivering critical defence equipment to India even in the face of geopolitical challenges, making Su-57 a more predictable option for timely induction.

The US causing deliberate delays, however, is not surprising since its foreign policy has been to bomb, threaten, sanction, and bully nations, trigger conflicts, and conduct regime change operations when things do not go their way. No wonder Henry Kissinger once said, “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”

Interestingly, while Donald Trump may have unleashed ‘trade deal’ as his magic wand of settling conflicts, considering its failure in the Ukraine-Russia war and the India-Pakistan conflict, it is as effective as UN has been in ending the Israel-Palestine war.

Besides the continued trust and mutual respect between India and Russia as defence partners, one of the most compelling aspects of Russia’s Su-57 offer is its alignment with India’s Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat intiatives, which prioritises indigenous defence manufacturing. Moscow is reported to have offered deep localization of Su-57, including co-production at Hindustan Aeronautical Limited’s manufacturing facilities, especially where Su-30MKI is already manufactured.

In addition, Russia has also offered full technology transfer, allowing India the integration of its own systems like GaN-based AESA radars, Indian-developed mission computers as well as native weapons like the Astra missile and Rudram anti-radiation missiles. Not only that, Russia has also offered full access to the source code of the Su-57, which can tilt Indian decision in its favour. On 4th June, Russian state-owned United Aircraft Corporation announced that the proposal to build the Su-57 in India includes an unprecedented full access to the aircraft’s source code.

However, if we look at the USA’s approach, it has a history of restricting technology transfer for the F-35 to even its allies like Israel, Japan, Australia and Italy among others. The proprietary systems of F-35, including its software and hardware, are strictly controlled. Moreover, the United States does not allow buyers to manufacture the jet or integrate non-NATO weapons without explicit approval. This apparent inflexibility limits India’s ability to adapt the F-35 to its unique operational requirements and induct indigenous technologies, even as it is an unavoidable concern for India since it is seeking to curb reliance foreign suppliers or at least limit it only reliable partners. Under Trump, it is highly unlikely that US would agree for a technology transfer arguing that it would compromise America’s tech superiority.

Notably, the American F-35A costs around $80-$110 million per unit, while, the Su-57 costs around $35-$40 million. In addition, the maintenance cost of the Russian stealth fighter jet is comparatively lower than that of F-35.

Russia’s Su-57 and USA’s F-35 – two fifth-generation fighter aircrafts (Source: Reuters)

Besides, reports suggest that F-35 also has certain technical issues. “Stealth coating, sustained supersonic flight, helmet-mounted display, excessive vibration from its cannon and even vulnerability to being hit by lightning,” a Business Insider report from 2023 states.

The American F-35 are also reported to be vulnerable to hacking. In 2015, a German magazine reported that the NSA intelligence contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden’s leaked documents stated that the Chinese hackers stole around 50 terabytes data of Australia’s US-made F-35. The hackers accessed F-35’s radar systems, engine schematics and methods to track targets. Perhaps that’s why Chinese J-35A and American F-35 have uncanny resemblance.

To deploy the F-35, India will need to purchase the AIM-120 advanced medium-range AAM since it will require US approval to modify the aircraft to carry indigenous and non-NATO missiles. Additionally, the IAF already has seven different combat jets: the Tejas, Rafale, MiG-21, MiG-29M, Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000-5, and SEPECAT Jaguar. The cost of maintaining seven different sorts of jets is way too high. Investing in an expensive fifth-generation American fighter will be a logistical headache, adding to the IAF’s problems with overhaul, maintenance, and repairs. While Su-57 is also a different jet, given that it is a Sukhoi variant, maintanence is expected to be cheaper and adaptibility will be easier.

Besides the technical aspects, it is important to understand that India’s defence procurement-related decisions are influenced by geopolitical considerations, especially the risk of US sanctions through the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Not to forget, India had upset American in 2021 with the purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defence system. India, however, navigated its way out of USA’s sanction threats as well as threats of deliberate delays in future arms transfers, and purchased Russian S-400s.

US also objected to India buying Russian oil after the Russia-Ukraine war, and had again threatened sanctions.

The United States has a history of imposing export controls, and embargoes to protect its defence technologies, this would obviously complicate India’s access to F-35 spares and maintenance support, particularly in crisis. Previously, the US has delayed or withheld defence supplies to countries it believed as misaligned with its strategic priorities.

As mentioned earlier, the United States uses these delay tactics to arm-twist buyers into falling in line with US’s interests. The US’s reliability as a defence partner also becomes questionable when on one hand it arrests Pakistani nationals for plotting terror attacks on American soil, on the other, lauds the same country as ‘phenomenal partner’ in countering terrorism, refuses to relinquish its relations with Pakistan even at the cost of upsetting India. Since India emphasizes its strategic autonomy and unlike Pakistan, refuses to be anyone’s puppet, it cannot rely on any single supplier, thus, Russia’s Su-57 is a better option with fewer geopolitical strings attached.

There is no doubt that India needs to curb its foreign dependence for defence requirements, however, India’s partnership with Russia has been time tested. Around 60 per cent of India’s military hardware, including BrahMos missiles, Su-30MKI, S-400, T-72 tanks are of Russian origin. Russia has been quite flexible when it comes to critical support, technology transfer and co-production, something the US refuses citing ‘security concerns’.

The Su-30MKI, a customized version of Russian Su-30, is literally the backbone of the Indian Air Force, with more than 260 units in service. Its successful production at HAL’s Nashik facility demonstrates the strength of Indo-Russia defence partnership. Russia’s offer to leverage existing infrastructure in India, ensures a smoother transition and lesser logistical challenges when compared to inducting American F-35, which would require entirely new training and maintenance ecosystems.

As discussed above, Russia’s reliability during critical times even if we go as back as 1971 Indo-Pak war, contrasts with the US’s tendency to play ball India. The US has supplied India with C-17 Globemaster and Apache helicopters earlier, however, deliberate delays in critical components and strict export controls create obvious trust issues.

The Russian fifth generation stealth fighter jet is not only cheaper than F-35, but also aligns better with India’s defence budget constraints and would allow larger fleet acquisitions. In addition, Su-57’s design emphasizes high manueverability, supercruise, and multi-role capabilities which are more suited to India’s requirements for tackling diverse threat scenarios such as high-altitude operations along the China border. The F-35 on the contrary, is more optimized for network centric warfare, thus it may not entirely meet India’s need for standalone operations.

Also, with fast changing global alliances and loyalties, India would not want appear too closely aligned with NATO, especially at a time when Russia is at war with a NATO-backed Ukraine. Moreover, since Russia offers co-production of the Su-57, this could position India as a regional exporter of advanced fighters, giving a massive boost to Indian defence industry, especially when the world is increasingly taking interest in buying India’s battle-tested weaponry. The F-35, on the contrary, would offer no such scope due to export restrictions by the US.

Conclusion

Until indigenous defence programs like the AMCA come to fruition, India would want to go for a foreign alternative for its requirement of fifth generation fighter aircrafts. However, India should focus on cost-effectiveness, operational compatibility and timely acquisition, all of which are better offered by India’s most trusted defence ally Russia. The existing infrastructure, Russia’s willingness for technology transfer and continued respect for India’s strategic autonomy make Su-57 a better option against America F-35.

In defence sector, imports should be an exception and not a norm; however, to bridge the fifth generation gap until indigenous AMCA is ready, India should rely on traditional defence partners like Russia instead of the US. This becomes crucial especially because of US President Donald Trump’s tilt towards Pakistan for his self-interests including his cryptocurrency-related ambitions  and to evade USA’s arm-twisting tactics. After all, how long will India carry the burden of the US’s ego and interests at the cost of its own strategic and defence autonomy?

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