By Aparna Pande
This article appeared in Indolink on January 29, 2007
Sixty years of independence are a good time frame to analyze any policy followed by a country. The just concluded visit of Russian President Putin with the offer of building four new nuclear reactors in India has highlighted India’s nuclear policy.
For the last six months the Indian public has been rocked by speeches and statements in Parliament and in the media on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
One side calls it a “sell out” and an “infringement of Indian sovereignty” and the other side refers to it as an “acknowledgement” of India’s great power status. In all this brouhaha what seems to have been lost is what India’s nuclear policy is and what it is expected to secure for India.
What the March 2006 deal provides India with is nuclear power assistance to the country and fissile material from the Nuclear Suppliers Group. In return India will separate its 22 nuclear reactors into military and civilian. The 14 civilian reactors will now be subject to permanent international inspections for the first time.
According to foreign policy analysts America considers India a key swing state that might ‘bandwagon’ with US in the new ‘Asian century.’ The continued steady growth of China, both in the economic and political spheres, has led some American policy makers to once again look favorably at the largest democracy in the world.
The economic benefits to American corporations and the ‘military-industrial complex’ from the construction of reactors and the sale of weapons are an added incentive. Supporters of the policy also point to India’s impeccable record. India has never been accused of selling material to anyone.
Foreign critics maintain that this deal is a breakdown of the non proliferation rules and a radical departure from global norms. They also point to the possibility of other countries following USA’s example. China has already signed deals with Pakistan to help the latter with its nuclear program and there is a possibility Russia might help Iran.
Many Indian scientists criticize the deal on the grounds that it is an indirect way of bringing India into the NPT obligations “without conferring on it the status of an NPT weapons state.” As proof they cite the fact that all aid will be suspended if India conducts a nuclear test in the future. The supply of nuclear fuel supply being linked to “safeguards in perpetuity” and that certain technologies will not be exported to India are also cited.
In an attempt to assuage these sentiments the former Indian defense minister Mr Pranab Mukerhjee said “We are sticking to our stand of voluntary moratorium but there is no treaty bound commitment. If national priority so requires, we may have to do a nuclear test. ”
One will never know for sure for many years to come what was written in the fine print and how that was interpreted. The Indo-US nuclear deal is, however, a good framework to look at India’s nuclear policy.
India’s nuclear policy has a Nehruvian legacy. The need for self-reliance both in the economic and energy sectors led Nehru to sponsor India’s nuclear program. For Nehru all forms of energy formation, whether dams or power stations, were the ‘temples of modern India.’
What surprises foreign policy analysts from other countries is that India’s nuclear program has been under civilian control right from the beginning. The key reasons were to prevent any wing of the military from becoming too powerful and trying to hold the government to ransom.
Ethically against nuclear weapons Nehru championed the cause of global nuclear disarmament. Yet, under Homi Bhabha’s tutelage, Nehruvian India did start a civilian nuclear energy program. Under Nehru’s successors the desire to be a global power, the fear of China and the dictates of realpolitik things changed.
India refused to sign any non proliferation treaty which indulged in ‘nuclear apartheid’; i.e divided the world into five powers who could have nuclear power and the remainder who could not. At the same time India continued with not just a nuclear energy but also a nuclear weapons program
In the light of the recent nuclear deal maybe the time has come for India to re-evaluate or at least re-state the key principles of its nuclear policy. India’s stance has always been one of principle – as long as any other country in the world has a right to have nuclear weapons so do we? This leads to the view that just as we have the right to have nuclear weapons so do Pakistan, Iran and others.
India has never sold nuclear material or technology to any countries or non-state actors nor indulged in any illegal trade in this area. This is something to be proud of.
Yet as a rising or emerging power in the international system it needs to do more. Actions often speak louder than words. With great power comes great responsibility and if India wants to be considered an equal of the other major powers it must learn to bear some responsibility too.
It is right to demand that we be treated as an equal of the other NPT powers. Yet, India must also accept the same restrictions that apply to those powers. If India wants to be part of the ‘power club’ it must learn to make tough decisions and often speak harshly to friends and others alike.
The legacy of Non alignment and the need to project third world solidarity has led to an India that cannot say ‘yes.’ Domestic political imperatives combined with the legacy of Nehruvian socialism and a strong bureaucratic establishment have also contributed to this.
Time (and tide) wait for no man (or nation). If India wants to be treated as a global power it needs to act like one. It needs to show to the rest of the world that it knows and understands what the conferring of that status means. More importantly it needs to show it is capable of sharing the burden of the other nations and not just reaping the rewards of being a great power.