Nikki Haley’s son Nalin Haley targets India again, calls New Delhi a ‘cheap’ and unreliable US ally

Nalin Haley, the son of Indian-origin US diplomat and Republican leader Nikki Haley, has launched a fresh verbal attack on India, questioning Washington’s continued diplomatic engagement with New Delhi. In a strongly worded social media post, Haley alleged that India has not proven itself to be a reliable ally of the United States and accused the Indian government of profiting from “cheap” labour, energy, and defence purchases.

Projecting himself as a voice aligned with the MAGA movement, Nalin Haley argued that the US should reconsider its relationships with several allies, including India. His comments surfaced after an old video of US politician Vivek Ramaswamy resurfaced online, in which Ramaswamy advocated prioritising India over china in US foreign policy.

Reacting to the video, Haley criticised both India and Ramaswamy, using the renewed attention around the Ohio governor race to reiterate his long-standing anti-India stance.

“India has not been a reliable ‘ally’ of the United States,” Haley wrote in a post on X. “Because they have a cheap government, they buy cheap weapons from Russia, cheap oil from Iran, and export cheap labour to the US. And it’s not just India. The United States must rethink its relationships with several so-called allies.”

The remarks have triggered sharp reactions online, especially given the strategic importance of India-US Relations in countering China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. Critics have accused Haley of oversimplifying complex geopolitical ties and using inflammatory language for political attention.

The immediate trigger for Haley’s latest outburst was a resurfaced 2023 video of Vivek Ramaswamy, in which the Republican leader argued that Washington should reduce dependence on China and deepen cooperation with India. Haley used the renewed circulation of the clip — amid attacks on Ramaswamy’s Ohio governor bid — to double down on his criticism.

This is not the first time Nalin Haley has made controversial remarks about India. He has previously posted multiple anti-India statements on social media and has, on several occasions, sought to distance himself from his Indian heritage.

In December last year, when India raised concerns with the US over prolonged delays in H-1B visa processing — which left many Indian professionals stranded abroad — Haley claimed New Delhi’s intervention was driven by concerns over remittance inflows rather than the welfare of affected workers.

Haley has also been a vocal critic of the H-1B visa programme. British-Indian journalist Mehdi Hasan pointed out in an October post on X that Haley has repeatedly called for the complete abolition of the programme, despite the fact that his own family immigrated to the United States in 1969.

In a previous interview with Fox News, Nalin Haley blamed work visa holders for domestic unemployment among young Americans. He claimed that several of his highly qualified peers remained jobless more than a year after graduation.

“We’re seeing kids graduate with six figures of debt and not having a job to show for it,” Haley said, arguing that immigration policies were disadvantaging American graduates.

His comments continue to draw attention due to his family background and his repeated targeting of India, even as New Delhi and Washington describe their relationship as one of the most important strategic partnerships of the 21st century.