A person closely associated with the report who wishes to remain unnamed said to me: “There is no way in hell or heaven that India’s nuclear power capacity can go up from 4,000 MW at present to anywhere near the best-case projection of 63,000 MW by 2030. With or without the deal with the U.S., nuclear energy is not going to be the solution to India’s energy needs. The proponents of the deal know this. They are essentially selling a strategic alliance with the US in the name of energy security, since the common man understands daily bijlee shortages better than the intricacies of the 123 agreement.” Isn’t this deception, pure and simple?

And for this illusory promise of energy security, look what the UPA government is giving up in its bargain with America: India’s sovereign right to decide the future development of our nuclear weapons programme as per our own independent assessment of our national security needs. This compromise could well lead to a subservient strategic partnership, one requiring India to take shelter under America’s nuclear and missile-defence umbrella. Washington has never been coy about indicating that this is it wants.

On July 27, after the 123 agreement was concluded, Nicholas Burns, its chief American negotiator, was at his candid best: “This deal brings India back into the non-proliferation mainstream in a way it was never before.” In other words, it brings India into the NPT regime through the backdoor.

Last week, Burns said something equally alarming. Explaining why India is becoming more important for America in the 21st century, he predicted: “Twenty or 30 years from now, many Americans would say India is one of the two or three most important global partners — the way Japan and the European Union are today.”

... contd.