Did you ever feel like asking the real “public” or the “nation” to please stand up in this intense debate over the Indo-US nuclear deal and national interest? This could be your answer: The Indian Express-CNN-IBN-CNBC TV18 poll showed that most people in the country have no idea of what the fuss is all about. And that were there a mid-term poll right now, the issue that threatens to bring the Government down will not have much political relevance.

Nearly two-thirds of the 18,750 people approached in this poll —- covering just about all corners and all diverse groups of the country —— had not heard about the Indo-US nuclear deal. Only about a quarter knew it had something to do with the nuclear issue.

The group with decent knowledge about the debate was, unsurprisingly, the one highly exposed to the media. Not that the exposure has made much difference. The ratio of supporters to opponents of the deal is almost the same among the uninformed and the knowledgeable.

The second home truth is that when it comes to making political choices, people don’t very much care for this issue. Only 6 per cent of the respondents said the Indo-US deal would be an issue for them in case of a mid-term poll.

The third home truth is that there is little evidence of the widely held belief that the Indo-US deal is a politically sensitive issue for the Muslims. There is little to distinguish the response of the Muslims from that of non-Muslims on the entire range of questions asked in this survey. The obvious exception is the tiny section that is against friendship with the US on the ground that it is anti-Islamic. If anything, the Muslims are a fraction more supportive of the deal and opposed to bringing the Government down on the issue. The opinions of the urban, more educated Muslims are not very different from their non-Muslim counterparts.

... contd.