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India
Scores Big in Nuclear Deal With US
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Bush,
left, and Singh called the deal "historic."
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Zafarul-Islam
Khan**
NEW
DELHI, March 6, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Ending over four decades of
US sanctions, removing for good obstacles the Asian rising power faces
in procuring nuclear technology and fuel, and acquiring ability to build
more nuclear plants, in addition to many more collateral advantages —
that sums up a win-win situation for India after signing the nuclear
deal with the United States
"We
concluded today an historic agreement on nuclear power ... it is a
necessary agreement, it will help both our peoples," US President
George W. Bush announced the deal Thursday, March 2, during a joint
press conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Under
the nuclear deal, Washington would share American nuclear know-how with
nuclear India.
The
deal, which capped months of negotiations, also commits Washington to
seek approval from the US Congress and countries of the Nuclear
Suppliers Group to lift restrictions on sharing civilian nuclear
technology with India.
From
the Indian point of view, the agreement is a win-win situation. India
will be able to build more nuclear power plants. At present it has 15
functional plants with an additional seven under construction.
India
stuck to its guns during the course of tough negotiations during the
last few months.
It
did not agree to open all its nuclear facilities to international
inspection. Instead, it ingeniously divided its facilities into
"civilian" and "military" ones and agreed to open
only the former to international inspection.
According
to currently available information, India will place 14 of its 22 plants
on the civilian list. Delhi thinks that nuclear energy is the answer to
its ever-growing needs for power. With this deal India will not have to
depend totally on foreign oil and gas for its increasing energy needs.
Most
important of all, the deal ended the over-four-decades-old American
sanctions slapped on India after its first nuclear tests in 1974.
It
also means that the hurdles faced by India in procuring nuclear
technology and fuel have been removed for good. In addition, all other
current restrictions on India's access to America's high and dual
technologies will also be withdrawn as a result.
Delhi
will be able to do much more business with the US in fields barred to
Indians hitherto, with the expectation that the volume of trade between
the two countries will double within the next two years from the current
US$ 24 billion.
Reward
for Defiance
From
the American point of view, this deal — a culmination of the
Bush-Singh understanding in Washington last July — was not easy and it
will be quite hard for Bush to sell it to the Congress.
To
start with, India is not a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty (NPT).
India built its nuclear program secretly in defiance of international
pressures and carried out two nuclear tests (1974 and 1998).
In
a way the American acceptance of the Indian nuclear position is a reward
to India for its consistent defiance and refusal to join the NPT.
In
contrast, the US is adamant to deny nuclear power to Iran which is not
only a signatory to the NPT but has also signed an additional protocol
which provides more transparency to Tehran's nuclear activities.
The
withdrawal of sanctions against Delhi will help India in many ways. It
will open the gates for Indo-US cooperation in lucrative space research
and scientific cooperation in many fields which are currently barred to
Indians.
The
US has refused to offer a similar deal to Pakistan. India, Washington
says, has demonstrated that it is a responsible nuclear power. Pakistan,
on the other hand, is accused of helping nuclear proliferation.
Opponents
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Thousands
of Indians protested Bush's visit. (Reuters)
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Not
all Indian circles see eye-to-eye with this win-win situation theory
though.
The
Indian government is implementing this new policy despite strong
opposition from many popular and political quarters, including many of
its own allies in the ruling United Popular Alliance (UPA).
The
current deal is being denounced in Delhi by many quarters as a sellout
and an acceptance of Uncle Sam's supremacy. But the ruling elite is
determined to see through this major change of course in India's foreign
policy. It remains to be seen if a beleaguered Bush too will be able to
muster enough political support to sell this deal to the US Congress.
In
a way the deal is a tectonic shift in India's foreign policy. India is
no longer non-aligned. It will no longer champion for Third World
countries. The Indian elite has decided to throw its lot with the
Americans. New India wants to emerge as a global power and enjoy the
fruits that go with that status. It is no longer concerned with ethics
and morality in matters of policy.
US
Rationale
To
offer India all above-mentioned concessions, the US had strong and
pressing reasons. India for most of the time since independence in 1947
has been at loggerheads with Washington. During Indira Gandhi's time
there was open hostility towards the US and India was considered a
Soviet ally.
The
whole situation suddenly changed after September 11, 2001. America
started to look at New Delhi as an important potential ally. The idea
was warmly welcomed in Delhi, then ruled by the Hindu nationalist
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which wanted to use the US clout to stop
Pakistan from supporting militancy in Kashmir.
The
relationship quickly flourished and by late 2002 Indian and American
officials started talking of "strategic partnership." A recent
Pentagon report describes India as a "key strategic partner."
Washington
wants to engage India in its global schemes. India is already a military
partner of the United States. Since 2001, it has carried out 35 joint
military exercises at sea, land and air, both in the US and in India.
Indian
Navy ships are already providing escort and security facilities to the
American military ships passing through the Arabian Sea and the Indian
Ocean on their way to and from the Pacific through the Straits of
Malacca in Southeast Asia. Although BJP was willing, a popular outcry
did not allow the BJP-led Indian government to send Indian troops to
Iraq to help out the American occupation forces.
The
only possible rationale behind the ongoing joint military drills is that
there are certain plans for joint Indo-American military action in the
future. The United States wants to use India as a bulwark in Asia
against the Chinese dragon.
This
kind of cooperation will not go down well with Asia's emerging giant as
well as with many popular and political forces within India. Delhi has
also successfully sold to the United States the idea that a democratic
India is a great ally against the Islamic terrorism America is fighting
at present.
**Dr
Zafarul-Islam Khan is an expert in Indian affairs and editor of the
Indian Muslims' leading English newspaper, The
Milli Gazette (www.milligazette.com).
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