Hindunet: The Hindu Universe: What is NPT, www.usindiafriendship.net

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060825/edit.htm#1
THE TRIBUNE, EDITORIAL, AUGUST 25, 2006

No dilution of N-deal, PM sends a signal to US Senate

The sceptics have now the reason to feel comfortable after the extensive debate over the Indo-US nuclear deal in both Houses of Parliament and the Prime Minister’s categorical reply to their questions.

If everything goes according to the July 2005 Joint Statement, India will have got what it had been seeking for some time. There is no threat to the country’s strategic and other interests. India’s declaration of a voluntary moratorium on further nuclear tests can be withdrawn the moment the country’s national interests demand. The deal will not come in the way. Dr Manmohan Singh has made it plain that it will be India’s sovereign right to build as many nuclear reactors as it wanted, whether civilian or military in nature. The civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the US does not bind India to the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, as it does not fit into India’s scheme of things. The safeguards agreement to be signed with the International Atomic Energy Agency will be only India-specific — exactly on the lines given in the Joint Statement.

Thus, it is clear: the deal’s final shape will be acceptable to India only if it will be in the country’s overall interests. President George W. Bush too has given the commitment that the goalposts decided in July 2005 will not be shifted. Or, India will be free to draw the “appropriate conclusions”, as Dr Manmohan Singh told the Lok Sabha. The Prime Minister’s remarks not only tend to reassure the country, but also carry a message for the US law-makers who have been trying to dilute the commitments made in the basic document. The US Congress, now in the process of amending the American law to allow nuclear trade with India, cannot afford to ignore India’s legitimate concerns if Washington wishes the deal to remain intact.

Those in India who think that the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement is only about finding an alternative source of energy should revise their opinion. There are other laudable objectives too. India had to find a way to end the restrictive technology regime that had been imposed on it. The country’s strategic interests could not be allowed to suffer forever because of the sanctions that came in the wake of India’s assertion of its nuclear power status in 1998. The deal with the US in a way amounts to India’s recognition as a nuclear power like the five old members of the nuclear club. This is the net gain for the country.

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