“The colonial era is over. You cannot talk to India and China in that tone”. That is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning to the United States, and its President. And we wholeheartedly agree. Addressing a press conference in Beijing following the SCO summit, Putin said,"Countries have had difficult periods in their history, such as colonialism and attacks on their sovereignty for prolonged periods of time. Now that the colonial era is over, they have to realise that they cannot use this tone in speaking with their partners". Needless to say, Putin’s stern message to the US comes in the backdrop of escalating tensions in the India-US relationship, thanks to Trump’s steep 50% tariffs on India as punishment for buying Russian oil and the daily insults and unhinged attacks by his close aides on the world’s largest democracy.