The US set out to woo India with a controversial nuclear agreement completely ignoring the fact that this would be a death-blow to nonproliferation and would seriously destabilize the region.
The US saw India as a counterbalance to a rapidly rising China. The US also needed a friendly power like India in the vicinity of the Middle East and what it calls “Islamic” terrorism in spite of the fact that Islam opposes terrorism. The US was also much concerned over India’s relations with Iran and, much taken up by India’s democracy. The nuclear deal was to win India decisively to the US side.
The US forgot many things as it moved forward with the Nuclear Agreement thinking that Indians would be falling over each other to sign the dotted line. The powerful nonproliferation lobby in the US and the rest of the world was appalled and reacted. In it they saw the death of the NPT. Pakistan was aghast at the double standard applied by the US and its complete disregard for regional harmony. The IAEA and NSG also had serious concerns.
The US also forgot that it had regarded India as a nuclear pariah because of the 1974 and 1998 tests. These tests started the proliferation process in not just South Asia but well beyond it. As recently as April 2008, the Times of India reported that Mumbai based exporter had exported nuclear grade graphite. In the whole spin about democracy, the US overlooked Indias internal problems that its policies do not address; the poverty, the exploitation of low caste women, the acid attacks on women, the atrocities against Kashmiris, The Hindutva massacres in Gujrat, the 6000 children dying of hunger in “incredible” India everyday and the blatant discrimination against Sikhs and Muslims. There are reports of reuniting Bengal by bringing Bangladesh under pressure and the state terrorism against those struggling for justice and freedom.
Full marks must be given to those in India who saw through the US game and opposed the Nuclear Agreement. They fought for India’s sovereignty. They refused to be lured into traps. India will be a great regional and world power if it gave priority to the region and the world around it and not just the US. The US will still want India because that is a compulsion for it.
