India did not immediately retaliate after the Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs on select Indian imports because New Delhi prefers a measured, broad-minded response, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday. Speaking to members of the Indian diaspora during a two-day official visit to Morocco, Singh underlined that restraint and perspective guide India’s foreign-policy reactions.
Singh, who arrived in Casablanca on Sunday and was received by the Head Wali of the Military Command of Casablanca and India’s ambassador to Morocco, Sanjay Rana, said:
“We didn’t react… Those who are broad-minded and big-hearted do not react on anything immediately.”
The minister’s visit includes the inauguration of Tata Advanced Systems’ first defence manufacturing facility in Africa a Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) 8×8 plant at Berrechid which he described as a milestone reflecting India’s expanding global footprint in defence production.
Addressing sensitive security issues, Singh defended Indian military actions in the Pahalgam operation. Recalling the incident, he said India’s response targeted perpetrators for their deeds rather than their faith:
“Humne kisi ka dharm dekh kar nahi, unka karm dekh kar maara hai” (We didn’t kill anyone for their religion; we acted for their deeds), he said.
Singh emphasised that Indian forces did not target civilians or civilian infrastructure, asserting that India had chosen to uphold a principled standard even when other options were available. “We didn’t attack any civilian or any military establishment. Only India can have this character,” he said, adding that this restraint should be preserved.
In a statement touching on the long-running Kashmir dispute, Singh predicted a future integration of Pakistan-administered Kashmir with India, claiming that locals would eventually assert an Indian identity. “Pakistan-administered Kashmir will soon be a part of India and the people there have also started demanding it,” he said. Recalling an address to soldiers in the Valley five years earlier, Singh added that he believed PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) would one day say, “‘Main bhi Bharat Hoon’”.
Singh’s remarks come at a time of heightened diplomatic activity for India balancing economic friction with deeper defence and strategic partnerships abroad. The inauguration of the Tata manufacturing facility in Morocco underlines New Delhi’s push to broaden defence exports and collaboration, even as trade tensions with the United States linger.
During his Casablanca visit, Singh met members of the local Indian community, including leaders of the Indian Association, and reiterated New Delhi’s preference for measured diplomacy over impulsive reaction.
