US President Donald Trump has invited India to join what he calls the “most impressive and consequential Board ever assembled”, a US-led body meant to oversee post-war governance and reconstruction in Gaza. On the surface, the invitation looks like recognition of India’s rising global stature. In reality, it presents New Delhi with a complex diplomatic puzzle.
The proposed Board of Peace is expansive in ambition, opaque in structure, dominated by Trump personally, and detached from established multilateral frameworks. Accepting the invitation could compromise India’s long-held commitment to multilateralism and strategic autonomy. Rejecting it, however, risks provoking an unpredictable US president who has shown little hesitation in using tariffs and pressure tactics against allies who refuse to fall in line.
What is Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’
The Board of Peace is part of phase two of Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan, first announced in September 2025. Phase one involved a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The United Nations Security Council later approved the formation of the Board.
Trump will serve as chairman of the Board, with no term limits. He has named US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and World Bank president Ajay Banga as founding members.
Trump described the body as “the greatest and most prestigious board ever assembled at any time, any place”.
Under its draft charter, countries can become permanent members by contributing at least $1 billion within the first year. The document does not limit the Board’s mandate to Gaza, instead describing it as a new international organisation designed to resolve global conflicts.
Why India is wary
For India, the first red flag is the absence of a clear Gaza-specific mandate. Experts note that the charter barely mentions Gaza at all.
Khinvraj Jangid, professor and director at the Jindal Centre for Israel Studies, told PTI, “This Board of Peace has a much more ambitious scheme of things that Trump is right now after.”
“In fact, the document doesn’t say the word Gaza as such. This Board of Peace is under the guidance of Donald Trump that will advise and make all the interventions in many global conflicts,” he added.
Such an open-ended mandate risks drawing India into future conflicts far beyond West Asia, something New Delhi has traditionally avoided.
A challenge to multilateralism
Another concern is that the Board appears designed to sideline the United Nations. Trump has already cut funding to several UN bodies and withdrawn from others. India, by contrast, has consistently defended the UN and multilateral institutions, even while pushing for reform.
Joining a US-dominated body chaired indefinitely by Trump could weaken India’s credibility as a champion of multilateralism and rules-based global order.
Leadership structure is another issue. The charter states that Trump can only be removed if he voluntarily resigns or is declared incapable by unanimous vote of an executive board made up of his own appointees. Even after leaving office, Trump would retain control.
For India, this raises uncomfortable questions about accountability and autonomy.
The Pakistan factor
Complicating matters further is the fact that Pakistan has also been invited to join the Board. India currently maintains a no-dialogue position with Islamabad. Sharing a platform on a high-profile international body would invite domestic criticism and dilute India’s consistent stance on Pakistan’s role in regional instability.
Former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal summed up these concerns on X, writing, “India should not be part of an arrangement that is arbitrarily set up, without UN approval, full of potential difficulties, with business interests of private parties built into the structure. Let the Arab countries principally handle this highly complex Arab issue.”
Trump’s pressure tactics add to India’s dilemma
Saying no to Trump is not without risks. The US president has already demonstrated his willingness to retaliate economically. Recently, Trump threatened to impose a 200 percent tariff on French wine and champagne after French President Emmanuel Macron rejected participation in the Board of Peace.
That episode has not gone unnoticed in New Delhi. With US-India ties already strained over tariffs, deportations, and visa changes, Indian policymakers are acutely aware of how Trump responds to perceived slights.
A careful choice ahead
India’s dilemma is clear. Accepting Trump’s invitation risks entanglement in a personalised, US-centric peace architecture that runs counter to India’s principles. Rejecting it risks economic and diplomatic retaliation from a president known for coercive diplomacy.
For now, New Delhi is doing what it does best in such moments. It is weighing its options carefully, signalling neither eagerness nor defiance, and buying time in the hope that prudence, rather than pressure, prevails.
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