Sealing the Nuke Deal

Sealing the Nuke Deal
*Saumitra Mohan

The recent Indo-US nuclear deal has been construed to be pregnant with lot many epoch-making implications for the bilateral relations between the two countries. Most significantly, the deal is being seen to have marked a major policy shift in United States’ foreign policy vis-à-vis India against the formers’ penchant for treating India on par with Pakistan. Even though Pakistan and many players on the international scene have cried foul, pointing to a double standard in the pursuance of United States principal foreign policy tenet of non-proliferation, the latter has still moved ahead with the deal. India, on its part, too, has weathered a lot of domestic resistance to clinch this deal with Uncle Sam.

It is really surprising that the United States, which reneged on its commitment to supply nuclear fuel to our Tarapur nuclear reactor and imposed many sanctions after we conducted a ‘peaceful nuclear explosion’ way back in 1974 and again in 1998, the US which would do anything possible to bring India within the ambit of the non-proliferation regime through the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangements, Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) and the Australia Group endeavours, the same United States has today gone out of its way to ink this bilateral treaty with India. Not only that, the United States is also interceding on our behalf with Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) countries to take India aboard. In all this, the US is said to be guided more by its own larger strategic and economic interests but it also marks recognition of India’s growing size in the comity of nations as the largest liberal democracy with immense trading opportunities.

As per deal, India would be opening 14 of her 22 nuclear reactors to the supervision and safeguards of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after having segregated its civilian and nuclear reactors. India also seems to have consented to a research programme involving each others’ nuclear weapons programme. The deal promises India access to the world’s civilian nuclear technology and fuel supply, while also legitimizing India’s nuclear weapons programme by implication. It also opens scope for accessing the technology for nuclear fuel enrichment and reprocessing including shipping used fuel back to the US for reprocessing. The US, however, has not given any commitment to ensure nuclear fuel supply from other countries.

But critics have strongly objected to references involving Iran and the threat of scrapping the treaty in case of India conducting further nuclear tests. One feels that the various provisions of the treaty should be seen in its entirety and the benefits it brings to the country. First of all, the treaty almost legitimizes India’s nuclear weapons programme. Secondly, it assures India of uninterrupted nuclear fuel supply. Believe it or not, with India growing at an average rate of eight per cent and with our hydrocarbons resources being finite, we do needed to diversify our energy sources, if at all to sustain our economic growth in keeping with our ambition of joining the big league.

The reference to Iran, even though abhorrent as the same impinges on our sovereignty, is not something we should bother much about. Being more in the form of an expectation than an obligatory prescription, the same actually fits very well within our overall foreign policy framework as non-acquisition of nuclear capability by Iran is something that suits our own strategic interests and we have actually sided with the US in the past on this issue. We would anyhow do the same as it is warranted by our national interests, irrespective of US expectations. The only thing is that we don’t like to be guided on such matters.

The objection to the deal being called off and sanctions being imposed by the US in case of further nuclear tests by India is also unwarranted. We should be guided more by our immediate interests than anything else. The US had imposed economic and technological sanctions against India in 1974 and 1998 but the same did not affect us much and we still soldiered on. In fact, we actually grew stronger out of the sanctions. So, we should be guided by our own policy requirements as far as our nuclear weapons programme is concerned and do as is needed in keeping with such a policy. In case of nuclear tests, US would have anyhow done the same, treaty or no treaty, so why fear the sanctions? The treaty, in its present form, at least, promises us certain benefits which we should reap and carry on while also exploring other avenues for outsourcing the required nuclear fuel and sophisticated enrichment-reprocessing technologies.

The Indo-US nuclear deal signifies more than a landmark in Indo-US bilateral relations. It signifies India’s gradual emergence on the world stage as a strong player as well as its role as a countervailing power vis-à-vis China and in the global coalition against religious fundamentalism and terrorism. While a healthy debate on such a treaty is always advisable in keeping with our democratic ethos, the same should not be allowed to go to such an extent to throw the baby with the bath water.
*Saumitra Mohan is an IAS officer presently working as an Additional District Magistrate, Hooghly in West Bengal.
(The views expressed here are author’s personal views and does not reflect those of the Government.)
Address for correspondence:
Saumitra Mohan, IAS, Additional District Magistrate, Office of the District Magistrate, Hooghly-712101.
E-mail: saumitra_mohan@hotmail.com.
Phone: 033-26806456/26802043(O)/26802041(R).
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