Allegations that the United States interferes in Indian affairs surface regularly in political debate, and they need to be separated from what the public record shows. No official source has produced evidence that Washington is trying to destabilise India, and the Indian government has not made that charge. What exists instead is a set of specific episodes in which one side raised concerns about the other. This article looks at three: the USAID voter-turnout claim, the Adani indictment, and the plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, and sets out what each government has said.
In February 2025, President Donald Trump said USAID had given $21 million to India for voter turnout, a figure he later put differently on other days. India’s foreign ministry called the claim “deeply troubling”, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called it “worrisome”, adding that if true, the country must know who was involved. The BJP called it evidence of external interference, and the Congress dismissed the allegation. In August 2025 the foreign ministry told Parliament that the US Embassy said USAID/India did not receive or provide $21 million for voter turnout between 2014 and 2024.
On 20 November 2024, US prosecutors in Brooklyn unsealed an indictment charging Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vineet Jaain with securities and wire fraud, alleging that about $265 million in bribes were to be paid to Indian officials for solar contracts. India’s foreign ministry called it a legal matter involving private firms and the US Department of Justice and said the government had not been informed in advance. The Justice Department moved to dismiss in May 2026, and on 10 August 2026 Judge Nicholas Garaufis dismissed the fraud charges against all three. That outcome cuts against the idea of a campaign against Indian business.
The Pannun case runs the other way, with the United States raising concerns about India’s conduct. In October 2024, US prosecutors charged Vikash Yadav, described as a former Indian intelligence official, in a murder-for-hire plot against Pannun in New York; Nikhil Gupta was also charged. India set up an inquiry committee in November 2023 after receiving information from the United States, and it later recommended legal action against an individual with criminal links. Gupta pleaded guilty in February 2026, according to Al Jazeera. Yadav is reported to be at large, and Washington has said it wants meaningful accountability.
Taken together, these cases show disputes between two governments that are partners and competitors at once, not a proven plan to unsettle India. Some commentators and political figures in India and Bangladesh argue that US engagement with opposition voices amounts to interference, and former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused Washington of orchestrating her removal. Those are claims, and the evidence for them in the public domain is limited. Readers should treat strong assertions with caution, whichever direction they come from, and look for documents, court records and official statements before drawing conclusions.
Featured image: The US Embassy in New Delhi (file photo). Photo by Soumya S Das, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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