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The U.S. dollar, once a global standard of trade and trust, has mutated into Washington’s favourite weapon of submission. Wrapped in stars and stripes, it strangles nations not with tanks or troops—but with Swift codes, financial sanctions, and tariff diktats.
Ask Iran. Ask Russia. Ask Venezuela. Now, ask India.
Washington recently fired a shot across India’s bow—not with guns, but tariffs. A 50% levy on Indian exports. Why? Because we had the audacity to buy cheaper oil from Russia. The same Russia that sells uranium to the U.S. The same Russia that American tech companies secretly still do business with.
The hypocrisy is not just galling—it’s grotesque. But here’s the real tragedy: we’re still playing by their rules.
Economic Colonialism in New Clothing
India still settles over 60% of its foreign trade in U.S. dollars, even with countries that don’t speak a word of English or listen to CNN. Every time we ship goods to Russia or import machinery from China, we route it through New York’s invisible toll booth — and pay the price in dependence.
Let’s not pretend this is about efficiency or market preference. It’s about control. The dollar is the reserve currency of American hegemony. It allows the U.S. to live beyond its means, fund military adventures, and dictate policy to sovereign nations like us — while printing money from thin air and exporting inflation globally.
We’re not trading. We’re subsidizing the American empire.
Why Is the Elephant Still Dancing to the Eagle’s Tune?
India is the world’s fifth-largest economy. A nuclear power. A spacefaring nation. A rising technology hub. And yet we still behave like a nervous junior partner — pleading for exceptions, begging for waivers, watching the Fed like a monsoon forecast.
It’s pathetic.
Prime Minister Modi talks about Atmanirbhar Bharat. But how self-reliant can we be when our entire external trade architecture is dollar-denominated and SWIFT-dependent? When one American bureaucrat can freeze Indian payments to an Iranian oil tanker or deny a Russian bank access to global liquidity?
Our strategic autonomy is being silently auctioned off — one dollar settlement at a time.
It’s Time for India to Flip the Script
Let’s be clear: this is not a call to abandon the dollar overnight. That would be naive. But this is the time to start reducing our exposure, systematically and boldly.
And it starts with our biggest trade partners: China and Russia.
India–China trade is over $135 billion annually. Russia supplies us discounted energy, defense hardware, and fertilisers. Yet, we’re still settling in dollars — enriching American banks for no strategic reason. This is not diplomacy. It’s laziness.
Why can’t we use rupees and yuan? Why can’t we settle in rubles, dirhams, or gold? Why not barter rare earths for technology? Why can’t we build an Asian clearinghouse and link it to CORE — the Consortium for Organizing Rare Elements — to make access to critical minerals conditional on non-dollar trade?
China, Russia, India: The Real Axis of Autonomy
This is not just economic policy. This is geostrategy. The West may scoff at the idea of India partnering with China and Russia, but facts don’t lie:
Forget being a swing state. India can help build the global pivot. A new non-dollar, non-aligned, post-Western order, where trade isn’t weaponized and finance isn’t a foreign policy tool.
The U.S. doesn’t like multipolarity. That’s fine. It’s not their world to like anymore.
Modi Has the Mandate. Does He Have the Will?
To his credit, Modi has stood firm on buying Russian oil. He has resisted Western pressure without theatrics or surrender. He has shown the West that India won’t be bullied. But this moment calls for more than resistance. It calls for reinvention.
If Modi initiates a Rupee–Yuan–Ruble Triad, expands Rupee Vostro accounts, and champions a BRICS+ clearing system, he will not just protect India — he will redefine global finance.
India doesn’t have to take sides. We can build the middle path — and own it. The West is aging, militarized, and addicted to control. The future lies east.
Let the Dollar Shrink Where It Hurts
India has three options:
- Continue dancing to America’s economic beat.
- Plead for “inclusion” in a system built to exclude us.
- Or build a new orchestra — and let the West pay the entry fee.
Let’s be blunt. If the dollar is now a tool of war, we have every right to disarm it. With every non-dollar trade settlement, we chip away at its false supremacy.
And as the dollar shrinks, India will grow — not just in GDP, but in dignity.
Let the era of post-dollar power begin. And let India light the fuse.
Mohan Murti, Advocate & Industry Arbitrator
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.