The Undead Deal

I am constantly surprised by seemingly intelligent people, who have major media platforms to vent their opinions, proclaiming two impossible things every now and then. The first is that the civilian nuclear deal between India and the U.S. is dead. The second is that the U.S. has imposed this or that deadline.

People, neither of these is going to happen - ever. No deadline is relevant because India is too big now for the U.S. to say that it is no longer open to discuss civilian nuclear co-operation. At the same time India's galloping energy needs will keep it perpetually looking at nuclear power to supplement hydro and fossil fuels. Solar energy and wind energy are not expected by any serious energy planner to play a significant role any time soon.

What can and should happen is that at some point of time in the future, how near or distant I have no way of estimating, a more confident and assertive India should negotiate with a more realistic and less belligerent America a deal which both can live with in perpetuity. The half life of such co-operation, as of the fuel it deals with, will have to be virtually infinite with no scope for either party to blackmail the other to do its bidding either commercially or geo-politically.

The Indian public and the American public already know this. The politicians will learn. The Hyde act can not be by-passed but it can and will have to be repealed.

Postscript: As we all know the deal is now fait accompli. 

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Unending Unclear Saga

The establishment is surprisingly adept at obfuscating the facts whenever the need arises.

Either that or we send MORONS to negotiate international agreements. Has there EVER been any doubt in any one's mind that the Hyde Act overrides any and all agreements the U.S. Executive branch might enter into.

Either the Indian government believes its own propaganda or holds the entire nation in contempt. Why don't we get the message when official American spokesmen repeatedly point out that NO, India can not hold a nuclear test without having to face action under the RETURN clauses.

Which, apart from leaving us decades behind where we are today, will cripple all economic activity that we will build around atomic power generated by plants set up under this once-in-a-lifetime deal. Investments around power facilities typically involve ten to twelve times the capital costs of generating power itself.

Once and for all, is there ANY linguistic trick which will hide the fact that this deal effectively over-rides Indian sovereignty in nuclear testing?

Where do we go from here? We say to the U.S. - Thank you very much. Please keep your technology, equipment and fuel.

This post also, I hope, completes my outpourings on this subject!

ps: This turned out to be wishful thinking, so:

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Unclear Nuclear
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The Nuclear Mess