Indian Army Drops 1971 Truth Bomb On Trump After He Accuses India Of Fuelling Russia’s War

In what appears to be a quiet but cutting rejoinder to Donald Trump’s latest outburst, the Indian Army’s Eastern Command has posted a 1971 news clipping detailing decades of US military support to Pakistan, even as the country carried out a brutal crackdown in East Bengal (now Bangladesh).

The timing of the post, part of the Command’s “This Day That Year” series, came just hours after Trump accused India of making a fortune off the Ukraine war by buying and reselling Russian oil.

In a typically inflammatory post on social media, Trump alleged that India was not only buying “massive amounts” of Russian oil but also reselling it for profit, implying Indian complicity in the death of Ukrainians.

He also attacked New Delhi’s broader ties with Moscow and threatened to raise tariffs on Indian goods. Though India’s Ministry of External Affairs issued a sharp, fact-based response calling out the hypocrisy of such claims, the Army’s tweet provided a blunter historical rebuttal, without naming Trump at all.

The 1971 newspaper clipping says that the US had shipped $2 billion worth of military equipment to Pakistan between 1954 and 1971.

The list included tanks, bombers, submarines, and guided missiles, much of it supplied at giveaway rates. This was at a time when Pakistan’s military regime was engaged in the mass killing of civilians in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), a genocide that ultimately triggered India’s intervention.

The Eastern Command’s subtle reminder carries deeper implications. Trump’s criticism of India’s ties with Russia ignores the historical context that made them necessary.

For decades, successive US administrations armed and protected Pakistan, shielding its military rulers from consequences even after repeated acts of aggression against India. Faced with an American-backed adversary, India turned to Moscow for military hardware and diplomatic support, a relationship that endures today.

Without saying a word, the Army’s post quietly underlined the real reason behind India’s strategic balancing, and why lectures from Washington, especially from Trump, ring hollow.