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The Indo-U.S. Nuclear Deal: What Is There?

Introduction

The statements coming from the Bush administration about the importance of the landmark nuclear deal and the alarm and the worries about the valuable time being wasted by India in approving the deal, and dilly-dallying in talks with the IEAE, NSG and India’s response and attempts to assure Bush administration about its intents, all pose many questions about the new turn in Indo-U.S. relations and the nuclear deal. What are the anxieties, issues and concerns being voiced both in India and the United States about the deal and why India needs to complete the agreement within the time limit given by the United States?

Actually the eagerness of the Bush administration for moving ahead with the deal being reflected through the sentiments expressed from time-to-time by U.S. officials and recently through U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s statement that “it is a landmark agreement which is good for both sides—we will continue to work on that agreement”[1] has also allowed people in India to discuss and probe the reasons of such significance of the deal for the United States. On the other hand, India’s UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government’s approach towards the United States, helpless in view of the domestic political uncertainty and the dilemma about completing the formalities of the deal in time, also demands attention.

There is no denying the fact that India’s relations with the United States have entered a new phase in the present era. In fact, a decade before no one could have imagined that the United States would be so keen to develop very close ties and a strategic partnership with India, and that U.S. officials, particularly U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, would opine that the United States aims to assist India emerge as a major power in the twenty-first century.

The momentum in defense and strategic ties between the two and the change in U.S. perceptions about India is unprecedented, as until recently, India and...