Addressing the opponents of the deal in the West, who are as determined as our communists to wreck New Delhi’s prospects for civilian energy cooperation, ElBaradei said, “India is one-sixth of the world — one billion people. I’d like to make sure that they are partners in the area of (nuclear) safety, security and non-proliferation.” Whether New Delhi is a “de jure or de facto” nuclear weapon power is “totally irrelevant”, ElBaradei said, as he underscored the reality of Indian nuclear weapons and the importance of integrating India into the global nuclear order on practical terms.

ElBaradei’s arguments on the Indo-US nuclear deal emphasise the one significant reality that the Indian communists are unable or unwilling to see. It is about ending India’s uncomfortable and anomalous standing in the global nuclear order since New Delhi conducted its first atomic test in 1974. Since then India has struggled to marry its nuclear security and energy demands with the rules of the non-proliferation regime.

With India poised to become part of the global nuclear mainstream, it is the Left that stands in the way. Our communists, either out of extraordinary ignorance or deliberate malevolence, have abandoned the Indian legacy of responsible multilateralism and mobilising science or national development and global peace.

It is precisely that spirit of scientific internationalism that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would want to recapture in his talks with ElBaradei. Looking beyond the immediate question of a safeguards agreement with the IAEA, the two learned doctors need to focus on the contributions India can make in promoting safe worldwide use of nuclear energy, preventing further proliferation of nuclear weapons and accelerating the movement towards universal nuclear disarmament.

... contd.