Overview

• On August 23 in Nagpur, participants paraded a giant effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump during the Marbat Utsav to protest newly imposed tariffs.
• Placards on the effigy carried sharp messages, including warnings that attempts to intimidate India with tariffs would backfire and criticism of perceived U.S. hypocrisy over Russian products.
• Coverage attributes the trade measure to an August 6 executive order that added 25% to an existing 25% duty on Indian goods, raising the total to 50%.
• Hindustan Times reported that the first phase of the tariff is already in effect, with a second tranche scheduled for August 27.
• Marbat Utsav, dating to the 19th century, uses clay-and-hay effigies as symbolic stand-ins for social ills that are traditionally burned or immersed at the end of the procession.