Let’s admit it—Arnab Goswami’s prime-time debates on his Republic TV are not for the faint-hearted. Watching his show is like diving into a whirlwind: chaotic, ear-splitting, and riddled with interruptions. And yet, like that extra helping of spicy chaat, it’s oddly addictive. You may hate the noise, you may despise the format, but you can’t ignore it. Because in the cacophony lies a kernel of hard, uncomfortable truth that few dare to voice.
Take yesterday’s episode, for instance. Amidst the verbal brawls, flying accusations, and Arnab’s signature “You answer me, sir!” roars, emerged a gem of hypocrisy from one Anand Ahuja—a US-based Indian-American, Republican Party sympathizer, and a self-proclaimed guardian of Indo-US relations. He did what most coconut patriots (brown on the outside, white on the inside) do best: lecture India from 10,000 miles away while enjoying American privileges.
Ahuja, in a moment of delusion, accused Arnab Goswami—yes, the man who turned nationalism into a 9 PM war cry—of being “anti-national” simply because Republic TV dared to question US President Donald Trump’s absurd tariff tantrum against India. Imagine the irony: a man who long ago traded his Indian passport and loyalties is now upset that a nationalist Indian media house is standing up for India’s economic interests. Cute, isn’t it?
This sudden outburst from Ahuja is not just laughable—it’s revealing. These so-called Indian-Americans, who once wept at Bollywood award functions in New Jersey auditoriums, now find it anti-American when India flexes its muscles. One can understand their confusion. After all, they’re used to an India that begged for global approval, not the new India that slaps back with BrahMos and boycotts Chinese apps overnight.
Let’s make something clear to the Anand Ahujas of the world: Republic TV isn’t anti-national for calling out Trump. It’s pro-India. And thank God someone still is. Because when Trump decided to slap an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods simply for not breaking energy ties with Russia, it wasn’t “diplomacy.” It was bullying. And Arnab, to his credit, refused to crawl.
Unlike the Lutyens media brigade, which still genuflects before white diplomats with colonial hangovers, Republic TV had the spine to say: Enough. You can’t threaten the world’s largest democracy for acting in its sovereign interest. Sorry, Mr. Trump, but the days of a docile Delhi are over. This is Modi’s India.
Let’s also not pretend that Trump’s latest meltdown isn’t partly because of India’s recent military feats. While the US was busy funding Pakistan and hugging Taliban defectors, India struck deep and hard, taking out multiple Pakistani military installations, with surgical precision, in under 22 minutes. If Guinness is watching, they should take note.
One such target? A suspected nuclear site—yes, the same site the Americans quietly moved in to “secure” after the dust settled. The US, under Modi’s watch, now knows India is not just a sleeping giant—it’s an armed, awake, and unapologetic tiger.
And that rattles the White House. Trump’s public tantrum—calling India’s economy “dead,” increasing tariffs, throwing diplomatic shade—is not statesmanship. It’s sulking. It’s a billionaire man-child throwing Lego bricks because Modi won’t play ball.
Well, tough luck. Modi isn’t running for re-election in Florida. He’s running a 1.4 billion-strong nation that’s tired of being lectured and manipulated.
Back to our friend Anand Ahuja. His meltdown on Republic TV says more about his disconnection from the soil he once called home than about Arnab’s editorial choices. He called Arnab anti-national for criticizing Trump? That’s rich coming from someone who votes in US elections, takes US government aid, and likely hasn’t paid Indian taxes in years.
Let’s not expect Pichais and Ahujas to care for India. They don’t. They owe allegiance to their adopted homeland. That’s fair by law and logic. But spare us the lectures when we defend ours. If Anand Ahuja is uncomfortable with Indian media standing up to American arrogance, he’s free to turn the volume down. Or better yet, stick to Fox News.
Love him or loathe him, Arnab Goswami has been relentless in his campaign to put India first. He’s not the most graceful interviewer. He’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. But in an era where media houses routinely sell headlines to the highest bidder, Republic TV stands like an unfiltered, unapologetic, rough-edged war drum.
The Republic’s fiercest critics often miss the point. It’s not about how loudly Arnab shouts—it’s about what he’s shouting for. National interest. Economic sovereignty. Strategic clarity. If that makes him crazy, may we have more such lunatics?
So, let the Ahujas rant. Let Trump tweet. Let the Congress cry. India doesn’t need validation from former colonizers, self-exiled NRIs, or Washington warlords.
We’ve got our spine now. And if that bothers some, too bad.
