Are we going ballistic over the nuclear deal?

It was fascinating to see the high drama being enacted over the N-deal in India. What was baffling to me and surely to most Indians was the stage at which reservations were being expressed over the deal. After the agreement was signed in July 2005, there was a period of 2 years during which the Indian government was negotiating ostensibly in national interest with the US to arrive at a fairer agreement. This is what happens when we give some parties especially the Left in India the opportunity to shape policy without being accountable whatsoever for any of the hardships involved with its implementation.

When you sit across the table with seasoned negotiators such as the ones the US has, its very hard to get any traction on most issues. When compared to other negotiations such as the Doha round of trade talks, the US has been far more conciliatory in granting India what it wanted on many aspects of the N-deal. Any international agreement has some trade offs built in to it. Otherwise the two negotiating parties would have never been able to face their respective domestic constituencies without accusations of a sell off to the other. What is striking is the unpragmatic stance adopted by both the left and the BJP in this matter to dogmatically insist on a deal that is blatantly India sided.

Coming to the points of opposition the Left has over the deal, India's loss of strategic sovereignty on its nuclear programme shouldn't be a big deal for the Left considering its opposition to nuclear weapons of any kind. Its hard to understand the Left's U turn on this issue as they have been consistently critical of the US for triggering a global arms race. It remains a totally different issue that both Russia and China have also been doing the same and have been long standing influences on Left policy in India. Coming to the next point of opposition that the Left has to the deal, India's strategic alignment with the US makes much more sense than the alignment India had with Russia. Maybe the Left wants us to forge a completely unrealistic alliance with China-a country that build roads connecting it to Mt.Everest and Pakistan without taking Indian sentiments into consideration. Russia is today a dangerous country in terms of the direction it can go in and India needs to be careful about dealing with forces in the country today. In a situation where even Pakistan is experiencing domestic trouble, India needs strong allies to help it in the event of a war like situation.

India's image in the world community as a progressive nation embracing the winds of global change are at test today with this deal. What India does today will influence the image of India in the west far more than in the past. Its time for India to stand up and be counted amongst the leading nations of the world. Lets not throw it all away at this juncture.