A Cock-and-Bull (Malicious) Story as regards the Indo-US Nuclear Deal: After Short 13 Years

[Sukla Sen]

The Deal was clinched in 2008.

The Left and the BJP - both, had aggressively and vociferously opposed.

So had the smallish anti-nuclear movement in the country.

While the grounds for opposition of the Left and the BJP had considerable overlaps, the anti-nuclear peace movement had opposed broadly from a different standpoint - though there was some overlap with the Left.

(For a voice from within the Indian anti-nuke peace movement: <http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article10224>.

That was a part of the campaign.)

The government of the day - threatened with collapse consequent upon its dogged insistence on going ahead and resultant withdrawal of outside support by the Left, could with some visible difficulty, eventually, save itself - though its honour didn't remain intact.

There was uproarious scene in the Lok Sabha; some BJP members, duly captured by the Lok Sabha TV, rained currency notes - apparently delivered to lure some non-Congress members to cross over during voting, on the Speaker's table.

The Speaker had stood solidly with the government and, as a consequence, would get expelled from his parent party - the CPI(M).

Even in that superheated environ, no one - just no one, had made any such allegation.

One of the reasons, apart from being visibly baseless, must have been that China itself had rather meekly submitted to the US pressure in two critical forums - IAEA and NSG, while a few others had shown some greater spine and held out for a little longer.

Pakistan had, of course, opposed it all through - tooth and nail, quite fruitlessly.

That was the story then - some thirteen years back.

The BJP had been no less vicious in its opposition to the Deal as compared to the Left.

Btw, I had then been a part of an international campaign, undertaken by activists, from different corners of the globe, championing global nuclear disarmament, spearheaded by Daryl Kimball - an eminent one from the US.

I was the lone member from India.

The campaign had primarily focussed on the US Senate.

(The patriotic Indian press, it may be recalled, had coined a term - "Disarmament Ayatollahs", to label and mar those favouring nuclear disarmament.)

Despite valiant strivings, the campaign eventually failed.

Now a cock-and-bull story after the lapse of short thirteen years.

In quest for a lucrative appointment?

And this Shubhajit Roy - author of the report, had taken a telephonic interview of mine and also a few anti-nuke friends in India, obtaining the telephone numbers from me.

Completely distorted my words and those of others too - in his subsequent report in the IE, as a part of his (and/or that of the IE) propaganda blitz in favour of the Deal.

Had written to the Press Council.

No result.

<<Knowing the influence that the Left parties wielded in the United Progressive Alliance government of Dr Manmohan Singh, China *perhaps* [emphasis added] played on their fears about India’s tilt to the Americans. This *may have been* [emphasis added] the first example of China’s foray into domestic politics, but they were careful to remain behind the scenes,” he [i.e. former Indian Foreign Secretary Vjay Gokhale, in his subject book]  further writes.>>

(Excerpted from: 'China tried to use Left to scuttle n-deal: Former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale' at <https://indianexpress.com/article/india/indo-us-nuclear-deal-china-opposition-vijay-gokhale-book-7435411/>.)

The credit goes to this Roy for the transition of the "may" into an assertive yes.

So, it's a two-stage affair.

The final bit being contributed by Roy.

Sukla 

[Sukla Sen]

A response:

Shameful. I did my bit from within the cabinet to register my objections to the deal. Now even Meghnad Desai conceded that the US is dragging India into a land war with China by boosting our participation in Quad. None of the other Quad  members has a land border with China.

And I have always been ashamed of Mahatma Gandhi’s India being not only a nuclear weapons power but proud of it! O tempora, o mores

Mani Shankar Aiyar