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India is, no longer the Guru, only a military state

New Delhi, Mon, 04 Aug 2008 Dr Sandeep Pandey

A lot of people didn't understand the hurry that Manmohan Singh was in taking the safeguards agreement to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and requesting the United States President to pursue the matter with Nuclear Suppliers' Group. Even those who support the Indo-US nuclear deal are perplexed by the urgency demonstrated by the government. Manmohan Singh was willing to put at stake his prime ministership, his government and the party as well as the country for the sake of the deal. He annoyed his left supporters and forced a motion of confidence which he won not in a very dignified manner.

The Indian government has got the approval of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the safeguards agreement expectedly quite smoothly. If Manmohan Singh is able to drive this deal through Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) and the US Congress the second time, it'll be a virtual coup for him. He would have achieved what no other country on earth has been able to do so far.

He would have obtained the rights for India to engage in nuclear commerce with the 45 member NSG countries without signing on the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It doesn't matter that the US and the rest of the world doesn't recognise India formally as a Nuclear Weapons State under the NPT. He would walk away without having committed India to nuclear disarmament.

It is to be noted that the big five, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, officially described as Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) under NPT are committed to nuclear disarmament, at least formally. The remaining countries which are signatories of NPT are anyway prohibited from making nuclear weapons. Pakistan and Israel, the only other non-signatories besides India, are also not officially committed to nuclear disarmament but then they are denied the benefit of nuclear commerce. Hence India will enjoy the unique status of a respectable member of the group of countries engaged in nuclear commerce with each other but without committing itself to nuclear disarmament. This is the diplomatic success of Manmohan Singh and a lot of countries are amazed that he has had his way violating the non-proliferation regime in place. He would like to consider this as his achievement and wants the due credit for it. This is why he wants to seal the deal during his present tenure.

It may be a personal achievement for Manmohan Singh. But what does it mean for the people and the country? Having obtained the status, even if informally, of a nuclear weapons state, India will seek to further stockpile. The nuclear power plants outside the IAEA safeguards will be used to add to India’s nuclear arsenal. This will fuel another round of arms race with Pakistan and possibly with China as well. Precious resources of the country will be dedicated to arms build up.

India has traditionally been seen as a harbinger of peace. As recently as in 1995, India's representative at the International Court of Justice described nuclear deterrence as 'abhorrent to human sentiment since it implies that a state if required to defend its own existence will act with pitiless disregard for the consequences to its own and adversary's people.'

Jawaharlal Nehru had spurned an American offer to conduct nuclear test on India soil with American devices to pre-empt the Chinese nuclear test. Even though Indira Gandhi conducted the nuclear tests in 1974, Rajiv Gandhi was still seriously pursuing the cause of nuclear disarmament in the United Nations in 1988. India had taken a principled position against the discriminatory Non Proliferation Treaty and was hoping that the big five - the US, UK, Russia, France and China - would give a time bound commitment towards global nuclear disarmament.

However, the US, has now stopped surreptitiously talking about disarmament. The new phraseology is 'non-proliferation.' It is a euphemism for the continuing hegemony of the US called the 'new global order.' And slowly the world leaders have started trumpeting the idea of non-proliferation, abandoning the ideal of nuclear disarmament. The countries have either voluntarily or under coercion joined the non-proliferation order. India had resisted this design valiantly as the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement not until long back. However, with the Indo-US nuclear deal, the US thinks that India had been brought into the non-proliferation regime through the back door.

Even our political parties, like the Congress, the Communists and the Socialists, who have been traditional supporters of the idea of global nuclear disarmament have been forced by the US and its right wing allies in India, the Hindutva forces, in this debate, to take right wing position of maintaining the option to carry out nuclear tests in future and thereby increase India's nuclear and other arsenals in the name of national security. They are either now paying only lip service to the ideal of nuclear disarmament or have subscribed to the new paradigm of non-proliferation.

So, India, from a position of the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), advocating nuclear disarmament and global peace, fighting the US dominance, has now climbed down to be merely an ally of the only remaining super power. She was earlier a spiritual guru to the world and champion of peace. Now she is just a military power, that too a very mediocre one. She has an ambition to be in the league of security council members, but her vast majority of poor population, living on the verge of starvation and possible suicide deaths pull her down to be face to face with the reality.

While the Indian Parliament builds a nuclear bunker for itself, majority of the villagers live without electricity. From a strong believer in the concept of self-reliance we now seek dependence on others which is described as ending India’s technological isolation. Subjugation to the world power is being portrayed as India achieving its long overdue place in the comity of nations. India’s leaders think that they will be able to retain country's sovereignty and not let it degenerate into a banana republic. In reality, our position will be nothing more than a second rate UK or Israel.

Dr Sandeep Pandey

(The author is a Ramon Magsaysay Awardee (2002) for emergent leadership, heads the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and did his PhD from University of California, Berkeley in control theory which is applicable in missile technology. He taught at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur before devoting his life to strengthening people's movements. He can be contacted at: ashaashram@yahoo.com)


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Comments:

Devinder

August 29, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Bhaji, MS was right to take all adavantage of a dumbo and an arrogrant SOB VP in White House, if $100 billion worth of nuke power deals were to be signed where would that money come from? Not Surat...yes from US in terms of soft loan or from GE & others? That money would ultimately play in the local economy. Who knows Wal MArt might shift its production base from China to India. India the new GF of US might even get MFN status. Who knows with all that power and MFN might provide a backdoor entry for FDI. US already knows three big emerging power Russia, China and India. Russia and China ruled too from being close US buddy. That leaves India, new buddy. US already respects Indian as Accountants or doctors no one here in US,thinks of us as snake charmer (snakes yes but not charmers) maje hay while the sun shines or get the f*** out of the way.

neo

August 19, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Look at brighter side !!
India does need energy !!... how do u elevate 40% of bpl indians to prosperity without energy .... does india have natural resources like oil /coal in abundance .... can india totally fulfill its energy needs by importing these resources from foreign countries .. Nuclear deal may be spreading nuclear arms race amongst countries....but it has ensured another energy resource called nuclear energy ...it will definately help india partially to fulfill its needs of energy and play its part in prospering its people to greater economic and social freedom....
dr. sandeep is forgetting fact survival scores over spirituality .... did india had influence over international politics anytime in its past .... dont think so india was never a guru ... nor it wants to military state in future... india just trying to break out of shackles and on way to greater economic prosperity...

V. Lakshminarayanan

August 7, 2008 at 12:00 AM

With people like Sandeep Pandey India will sink to be a weak state so that Pakistan, Bangladesh and China will walk through and enslave all Hindus. Only a fool thinks in terms of disarmament in today's predatory world. Unilateral disarmament is suicide. Because of Nehru's shortsighted disarmament outlook we lost half of Kashmir to China and Pakistan. Paksitan wants the rest of it while China wants Arunachal Pradesh and who knos how much more. Let this man go do his preaching to China and Pakistan.

SHOBHIT NAVANI

August 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM

WELL WAT DOES DIS AUTHR WANT.INDIANS BE CALLD BLDY SAGES.GURU.COMON GROW UP MAN AND CUT D CRAP...MANMOHAN DID RITE..WAT U XPECT BJP TO DO IT IN NXT ELECTIONS(PRESUMING IT WINS NXT-- LOOKING TO WIN DUE TO INFLATION ETC)
EVEN MR. ADVANI SAID V R NOT AGAINST THE DEAL BUT SOME DAMN POINTS..ITS GOOD NOW INDIA WILL BE LUKD UP WITH RSPECT..BELIEVE ME IN MA TRIP TO SWEDEN--(EUROPE) INDIA IS STILL THOT OF MAJOREITY AS SNAKE CHARMERS AND GURU...BARRING FEW METROS..I TOTALLY APRECIATE THIS URGENCY BEING AN INDIAN BCOS IN US ELECTIONS R NXT SO THE PROCEDURE WUD HAV REPEATED AGAIN AND WE WUD HAV MISSD THE BUS...WELL U TALKING ABT POLITIX EVEN MR. NARSIMHA RAO AND MANMOHAN WER CRITICISED IN 1991 AND WAT IS THE CONSEQUENE...U ABLE TO RITE THIS AND PUBLISHING UR ARTICLE.LOL...WELL I WUD SAY VERY NICE AND APT HEADING TO BRING OUT THE TRUE INDIAN FROM A DOCILE PERSON LIKE ME.......IN SHORT I DISAGREE WID U AND EVEN U WUD BE WID URSELF TOO:)........PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN
JAI HIND
WAISE R U A "LEFTIST--BLDY CHINA"

Raj

August 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM

I disagree, that India would be stockpiling nuclear weapons. India's nuclear doctrine is one of minimal deterrent, no first use and no use against non-nuclear weapon state. India's weapons are also only Pakista and China centric. That means the vast majority of countries in the West, Russia, Arab countries, Iran, Africa and South East Countries, see no threat in Indian nuclear weapons. It is not an intimidating doctrine. As India did not have nuclear weapons, our words in support of universal disarmament went unheeded. Now as a state with nuclear weapons, when we speak of disarmament, those words will carry more weight. A non-nuclear weapon country is simply not taken seriously, because the nuclear weapon countries do not perceive that through disarmament, the non-nuclear weapon states would have anything to lose, they are not considered as stakeholders.
So I don't agree with the author. His are left leaning sentiments based on ideology and less on ground realities.

Suraj

August 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Nice article but misses the bigger point. Earlier India was out of the game and now its getting into the game.


 

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