In a sweeping endorsement of the Bush Administration’s proposal to resume civilian nuclear cooperation with New Delhi, the US Senate last night signaled a historic transformation of Indo-US relations and reaffirmed the American commitment to change India’s status in the global nuclear order.

Shocking non-proliferation sceptics here and surprising nuclear cynics in India, who were hoping the US Congress will bury the deal either on substantive or on procedural grounds, the Senate came out swinging, 85 to 12, in favour of the deal.

The Senate’s 85 per cent support exceeded the 80 per cent majority the deal had got in the other chamber, the House of Representatives, where 359 of the 435 members voted in favour last summer.

Although India prudently held back celebrations until it sees the final piece of legislation, which will emerge from a reconciliation of the Senate and House versions in early December, there is no denying the significance of the vote.

As amendment after amendment was voted out by big margins in the Senate, the sense of expansive bipartisanship in the U.S. Congress in favour of improved relations with India came through. Some of these “killer amendments” called for restrictions on the size of the Indian nuclear arsenal, stringent certification requirements by the President, and attempts to limit India’s relationship with Iran.

Supporters of the deal, however, won the day by insisting that the essence of the deal negotiated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W. Bush in July 2005 cannot be altered. Coming days after the Democrats and Republicans fought a bitter election that saw the latter losing control in both Houses, the vote last night highlighted that there were no real divisions within the American system on strategic cooperation with India. With the clock ticking away for the passage of the nuclear legislation, the Senators decided to finish the work barely hours before many of them took off for the Thanksgiving holiday.

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