Nuclear Deal At Last !

On 6th September'2008,India finally got the go ahead from the 45 member Nuclear Supplier's Group(NSG) after seemingly endless rounds of parleys between the Indian delegation,their US counterparts and G-6 countries(Ireland,Austria,NewZealand,Netherlands,Norway and Switzerland).The G-6 countries were hell bent on scuttling the deal as in their view India had not done enough for non-proliferation to be granted full civilian nuclear cooperation rights.The statement by India's External Affairs Minister reiterating India's longstanding commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and its unilateral voluntary moratorium on further nuclear testing definitely played a role in getting the NSG waiver for India.The US also pitched in with its support and like it or not ,US still exercises a big say in international affairs.
The NSG waiver ensures that India can go for full civilian nuclear cooperation not only with USA ,but also with countries like Russia and France.The waiver has come at the right time as India's energy needs are growing at a fast clip and with fossil fuels running out as well as their adverse impact on environment, nuclear energy seems a much better bet for ensuring India's energy security in the future.
The question doing the rounds in all TV channels and other media outlets is what price would India have to pay for getting up,close and personal with USA.Well,yes,India will have to pay a price in the sense that US will seek India's active involvement in seeking its foreign policy goals and also military cooperation.Already India conducts joint military exercises with US and also with other countries plus having good relation with the lone super power in the world is also in India's best interests.Non-alignment is well past its sell by date and India is an emerging global player and if US wants to help India to contain China(the primary reason why Left is dead opposed to nuclear deal)so be it.India is a vibrant democracy,yes it is far from perfect in its operation but surely no Indian govt. can ride roughshod over public opinion.This effectively means that India's foreign policy might be pro-US in times to come but definitely not dictated by US as feared by skeptics of the deal.Instead of focusing on what US stands to gain, we should focus more on the gains for India.This deal has secured for India its rightful place on the nuclear high table and the real gain of the deal would be visible when India becomes self-sufficient in its energy needs.