THOUGH THE NEGOTIATIONS between US Undersecretary Nicholas Burns and Indian foreign secretary over the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal have continued for long, because of certain issues the deadlock still persists. India is very much concerned about the limitations US wants to put on Indian nuclear activities, which if accepted will directly hit India’s sovereignty as an independent state.

 

The first issue is the reprocessing of the used nuclear fuel. The US wants India to commit that spent fuels will not be further used. Now for a country like India, which has been reeling under acute power shortage amid high industrial growth, accepting such a condition will only aggravate the problem.

 

The nuclear deal is expected to help India in meeting the domestic demand of electricity both at household as well as industrial level. But if as per deal India bans the reprocessing, the cost of electricity production will go up substantially and consequently it will push the per unit rate to higher level.

 

An increased price of electricity would inflict the price escalation exactly like oil price. There will be cascading effect of this rise. When you are at the mercy of others for the supply of raw material then controlling the price becomes all the more difficult.

 

Perhaps the US is thinking otherwise and somehow is refusing to trust India. Its primary concern would definitely be regarding India’s nuclear program and US is not ready to believe India for its promise of pausing further nuclear tests. The US must understand that India’s moratorium is something, which is not a sham. It is a clear-cut universally accepted state policy where every political party is toeing the same line. This moratorium was imposed by previous government headed by different coalition but is still being respected by the present coalition government.

 

The US’ paranoia is something which simply has no base. India is a responsible nuclear power. Besides that we are a democratic country, traditionally peace loving, which never threatened others and the most important thing there is no state sponsored terror policy. Commercially, it is the right of India to use the purchased raw material the way it likes.

 

The second bone of contention is the penalty for carrying out further nuclear tests. This is a direct attack on India’s domestic sovereignty and will make India a weak nation for a nuclear deterrent is the most effective deterrent against any rouge state. The US is very apathetic about this issue and must be made to understand that both the countries are facing the same challenge and the threat for India is as real as it is for the US.

 

Moreover, we are living with mighty and equally untrustworthy nations in our neighbourhood. The relation of China with Pakistan, supply of magnetic rings to Pakistan, transfer of Korean missile technology to Pakistan and the unresolved Sino-Indo border dispute are the direct threats to India’s security. For the US the threat is only from the terrorists but for India the threat is from both the terrorists and the countries funding and abetting them directly or indirectly. Compromising on this issue is akin to compromising with the security of nation in the longer term.

 

Third problem in fact the third concern is something, which is completely unfounded. India’s good relations with Iran have baffled US and the latter is getting more and more paranoid vis-à-vis Iran. Many US senators have written letters to the Indian Prime Minister urging him to sever all ties with Iran. They have forgotten that India’s relation with Iran has roots in the history dating back to thousands of years. Also the US perception about Iran has been proved unfounded by IAEA. Iran is strategically important for India both from the point of security and commercially and severing ties with it will only harm India.

 

Perhaps the US has developed a habit of committing mistakes after mistakes. It will be in the interest of the US, India, and the world that this deal sails through the rough waters. The world is changing very fast and there are indications of revival of arms race. India could prove to be an important ally for the US if it gives India her share of the demand and respects its sovereignty. At least India is more trustworthy than its ‘present ally’.