Nuclear - Articles

Will the Nuclear Deal Hurt India's Foreign Policy?

Following the confidence vote on 22 July after the Left's withdrawal of support, and with the Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon meeting the IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei in Vienna on 18 July to discuss India-specific Safeguards Agreement, it is reasonable to ask if the nuclear deal will indeed affect India's independent foreign policy. Will India, like Pakistan, become a US stooge?

This assumption has gained salience, given the keenness of the Bush administration to operationalize the deal. The unrelenting opposition of the Left parties, aided by the criticism of the deal by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has generated fears that India is compromising its independent foreign policy and becoming a US ally to contain the growing influence of China. However, in spite of the general belief that India's foreign policy has been inclined towards the erstwhile USSR or present day Russia, India has managed to maintain its non-aligned posture. India did not care about Russia while making a deal with the US nor will it hesitate to go ahead with Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline in the future, if the policy so demands. The Congress party has clarified that India's basic foreign policy remains independent, dedicated and unaltered, despite the changing world order. In the face of accusations by the Left that the government was taking the nation into the US orbit, the Congress restated the basic principles of the country's foreign policy, formulated during the Nehruvian era.

On the Left parties' campaign that the nuclear deal would hurt Muslim sentiments, it may be noted that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, that have close relations with the US, have appreciated the "new dynamism" in Indo-US relations. This approval of the GCC dispels apprehensions in the Islamic world about the Indo-US nuclear deal. AG Noorani, in his article, "Myths about Muslims" (The Times of India 9 July 2008), pointed out that after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George Bush agreed to civil nuclear energy cooperation three years ago, "there has been extensive debate on its implications. None of any significance mentioned any communal aspect, because it simply did not exist."

Unlike other partners of the US, such as Pakistan, India is a large democracy with a well-established rule of law, independent judiciary and free press, and is the second-fastest growing economy in the world. In its 60 plus years of independence it has not succumbed to any international pressure or compromised its foreign policy, irrespective of which political party ruled the country. India rejected the US-backed Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), calling it discriminatory, since it envisaged different 'rights' and 'obligations' for the five nuclear 'haves' and the other 'have-nots'. Besides, India explicitly sought its national interests by preserving its nuclear weapons option. Despite facing constraints on its indigenous nuclear research activities due to the nuclear embargo, India was not distracted from pursuing an independent foreign policy.

The nuclear deal with the US is a diplomatic victory that puts India on the world map for the first time, where it can be respected and walk shoulder to shoulder with developed nations; it could possibly get a berth in the select group called G-8 where India can present its national interests as well as those of other developing countries in a more convincing and respectful manner. In spite of its size, and economic and military power, India does not possess commensurate influence on global issues. Since it does not have a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, its power is yet to be recognized on the world stage. The deal will help lessen Chinese opposition to India's quest for a permanent seat in the Council which has been backed by Pakistan, as the US will influence Pakistan not to initiate such a move in future.

Doubts about restrictions on India's freedom to conduct nuclear tests in the future are not well-founded. India will continue to work towards enhancing its nuclear capacity - civil and military - while advocating the elimination of all nuclear weapons, without any discrimination. On the technology front, India will benefit immensely. Improved Indo-US relations will pave the way for American assistance in many cutting-edge technologies like radar, aero-engines, electronics, UCAV and UAV, and a host of other weapons, missiles and air defence platforms. Alternative or renewable energy technology, based on fuel cells, solar, ethanol, biomass, coal based methane etc., are important areas where India can benefit from the US. Besides, India can collaborate with the US and other western countries to seek technology transfers, which will help India's quest for self-reliance in the armament industry.

On the terrorism front, India's concerns resemble those of the US, since both have been targeted by transnational militant outfits. A close Indo-US relationship will help boost the war on terror by checking the proliferation of terrorist attacks on Indian soil by organisations working from within Pakistan and Bangladesh. It will also pave the way for the bilateral exchange of intelligence inputs between the two countries, and possibly, a joint operation in the form of pre-emptive strikes that India has failed to actualize till date.