INDIA PERSPECTIVE

The Times of India headlines: "'Get your own oil': Trump mocks UK, other countries amid Iran chokehold on Hormuz" and adds a detail absent from most coverage: Trump also criticized France for not allowing airspace for military cargo flights to Israel. NDTV frames the same event domestically: a separate article explains how India can transform its solar potential into national security advantage. The contrast is striking: while Trump tells the world to seize oil by force, India plans its exit from the fossil fuel trap. India, the world's third-largest oil importer, occupies a unique position: it buys massive amounts of Russian crude at discounted prices since 2022, which partly cushions the Hormuz shock. But the strait remains vital. New Delhi does not criticize Trump—strategic non-alignment means offending no one—but the media coverage, by reporting Trump's insults without defending Europeans, signals a certain satisfaction at seeing former colonial powers brought to the reality of energy dependence. India imports over 85% of its oil. Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, New Delhi has massively diversified by buying Russian crude at reduced prices—a buffer Western media never mention when discussing the crisis. NDTV, by publishing a parallel article on Indian solar potential as a "national security asset," frames energy as a sovereignty question, not a market one. This is non-alignment applied to energy: depend on no one, exploit every opportunity.