Hail Manmohan!

The Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Agreement has attained a clean waiver from the NSG, with many in the country hailing the Prime Minister for sticking to his guns, and others labelling it as the surrender of our sovereignity! I don't claim to know all there is to know about the deal, but here's how much I've gathered so far :

The Nuclear Deal is set to enable trade in nuclear fuel between the US and India. Though the prime motive behind this deal is to ensure consistent fuel supply, there appears to be a difference in interpretation between the two governments with regard to testing. India does not wish to surrender its right to test, for namesake that it may need to in the future. FACT : A voluntary moratorium was signed after the tests in '98 by Prime Minister Vajpayee, seeing that no further tests were required : India had already the necessary expertise to generate nuclear weapons if the times called for such measures. It is this very same BJP that argues today that we need to maintain that right, which they'd chosen to voluntarily place on the backburner indefinitely. My simple question : WHY?? For a country that already has the required knowledge, and supports the cause of de-nuclearisation and disarmament, why would tests in the future be necessary, if not to make weapons even more sinister than the ones existing??? What crime would justify the kind of havoc that nuclear detonations wreaked on the towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 63 years ago? Has the world not come to its senses that weapons of such potential should never be considered an option, regardless the scenario? Even in the face of whatever hell Pakistan chooses to unleash in desperate bids at destabilising the country, would/should we EVER consider the nuclear solution?

FACT : The NSG Waiver enables India to undertake nuclear commerce with the US, as well as other suppliers such as France and Russia, to create a stable supply to our generators! Regardless of whether the US opts to cut off supply IN THE EVENT of a NUCLEAR TEST, commerce can still be continued with other nations, if independent deals with them are negotiated! India has a very limited deposit of Uranium, and hence, internal supply in itself, cannot be sustained for long!

The naysayers to the deal make the following claims :

1) Nuclear Energy, in China, accounts for 6% of the total energy output. Energy security can never be attained through it. ANSWER : Aiming to increase our capacity in one alternative source of energy is better than none at all. 6% of India's energy need is still a significant amount, and will give India the kind of cushion required to develop other, still cleaner sources.

2) India's sovereign foreign policy has been compromised. ANSWER : The 123 Agreement does not mention an immediate cease to fuel supply in case India conducts a test, but states that the decision will be discussed over a period of a year, taking into consideration the circumstances that may cause India to take such a drastic step. As a test seems unlikely, even this clause may never truly come to bear significance!

Let us consider the rammifications of this deal on the political scenario of the country. The Congress and the UPA have not garnered the trust of any vote-bank by this victory : the Nuclear Deal is low on the priorities of the common man. Over the past several months, it has given the Opposition a chance to criticize every aspect of its policies, an opportunity which they've accepted with open arms! What would the Congress have to GAIN by misleading the country? To me, the answer is clear. The past year has been little but a political charade on the part of the Opposition, attempting to crush the valour and spirit of the only true visionary left in the political establishment today! The Opposition has resolved to petty mud-slinging, calling the deal Anti-Indian for deceiving the nation, Anti-Aam Aadmi for ignoring the common man's plight in pursuit of the deal, and even Anti-Muslim for establishing nuclear trade with the US! The Opposition, being the minority in the House, represents neither of these three constituencies of which it speaks! The truth, is that the Prime Minister and the Government have gone against their better political instincts and backed a deal which they realised will benefit the nation in years to come, but might cost them the next General elections. They've dared to tread a path filled with persistent Opposition thorns, but persevered! The Prime Minister, particularly, deserves acclaim for the integrity and dignity with which he has held his post, even in the face of some truly despicable remarks from the Opposition about the devaluation of his post in the past 4 years! This deal will do a lot more good to our young democracy than bad! To you, Mr. Prime Minister......JOB WELL DONE!