Gor Brings Old Worries To The Fore

US President Donald Trump has finally appointed his Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor. A 38 year old very close to Trump, and hence makes up in proximity what he lacks in experience. So those who were hoping for a more qualified, older, experienced diplomat in the US Embassy in Delhi will now have to settle for a young man, still raw around the ears as this will be his first diplomatic assignment, but bringing the full impact of the Trump ethos into India.

And indeed into South Asia. Gor will assume charge not just as the Ambassador to India, but also as Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs. A new post that has immediately indicated that the Trump Administration’s focus has shifted from supporting India as a bulwark against China, but in developing a larger South Asian policy that brings in all the member nations. This has created tremendous unease in power corridors here but more of this later.

Back to Gor. His claim to fame is loyalty, and as Elon Musk of X would describe it perhaps now as sycophancy. A less vicious term than the ‘snake’ description Musk had used for Gor not so long ago, with both developing serious differences early into the new Presidential term.

Gor is currently serving as Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office and has enforced strict loyalty standards that has earned him “a great friend” status from Trump. Gor is known to have ensured that candidates for posts are vetted for their past criticism, or to put it different admiration, for Trump. And hence the US President while announcing the new job for Gor said he is sending a person he could fully trust for South Asian affairs.

The Indian official response has been muted. Even Minister of External Affairs S.Jaishankar has not exulted over the appointment, and it is apparent that India is wary of the new incumbent and his brief. This wariness, that some describe as worry, flows from the freeze in US-India relations after Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs, with no signs of a thaw. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval are currently pulling out all the stops to ease tensions with China, and strengthen relations with Russia as a counter to the US although all eyes seem to be darting with Trump who seems to have forgotten the highly proclaimed chemistry he was supposed to have developed with the Indian Prime Minister.

Hence the brief for Gor to act also as a Special Envoy for South Asia has created ripples here. One, the post seems to further enhance Trump’s decision to equate India and Pakistan. New Delhi had been working to de-hyphenate this global equation for almost two decades now, and Trump’s decision to reemphasise the hyphenation is being viewed here as a major setback. Despite denials by India, or at least clarifications that it was in charge of its own ceasefire decision, the US President has repeated his claim of enforcing it at least 30 times at different meetings and press conferences. And as if this was not enough he has gone a big step further by authorising the US Ambassador to India to deal with South and Central Asia.

Two, Gor’s reputation as a Trump man also makes it clear that Washington will now be overseeing South Asia as a matter of emerging policy. And the Special Envoy post is intended to emphasise Trump’s growing interest in the region as a whole, where India’s unique position in South Asia could be belittled. The US President’s decision to embrace Pakistan adds to the general unease that has refrained New Delhi from welcoming Gor and his South Asian brief with open arms. More so, as instead of bringing the nuances of diplomacy into his tenure here Gor, given his background, is expected to follow Trump’s instructions as the proverbial loyalist.

Three, Kashmir. Trump’s remarks, while announcing the ceasefire that he claimed to have effected for India and Pakistan, said, “I will work with you both to see if after a thousand years a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir.” India firmly rejected this statement, while Pakistan predictably welcomed it. Since then, however, little has been said about it and there is nothing emanating from Washington to indicate a shift on this issue. However, as strategic experts point out Trump has a way of following up on his most casual remarks, and given the distancing from India, as well as the new appointment in Gor, he could very well bring Kashmir back on the anvil.

Trump seems to be outlining a new strategy, in that he is not looking for mediation insofar as his relations with the world are concerned. He has decided to deal directly with Russia and China, making it apparent that he will not outsource this task. In the process he has made it clear that India for instance is no longer important for him as a counter for China, and relations between the US and India will be dependent on what each is prepared to bring to the table. Given his many peeves, that many describe as petty, he has pushed back on his earlier bonhomie with the Indian Prime Minister and singled out India (and Brazil) for the highest tariffs till date.

Pro- government analysts here have raised several red flags. Former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibha has written about the blurring of the Indo-Pacific focus of the US-India relationship and the revival of a format such as the above, that India has rejected. Scholar Brahma Chellaney has spoken of the possibility of a strategic downgrade for India by Washington by reducing its status to that of a regional player from a global partner.

All in all Gor, by the time he arrives at the end of this year, can prepare himself for a lukewarm and perhaps even cold welcome. But then given the fact that his politics is influenced by President Trump, he can be expected to ignore this as a minor blip in his mission to implement whatever is the new policy that is being hatched for India and the region by his mentor.