A critical nuclear divide

What are the real choices now that New Delhi has tested the bomb? Do we kowtow and roll back the nuclear programme? Do we behave like a conq...

What are the real choices now that New Delhi has tested the bomb? Do we kowtow and roll back the nuclear programme? Do we behave like a conquered nation and allow international inspection of all our reactors and research plants as required by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty CTBT and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty NPT? Or do we fight to be recognised by the label Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has used: that of a nuclear weapons state8217;? The BJP-led government has created the dilemma by failing to build a consensus. Conscientious objectors may even say that the whole thing was a mistake and recall Mahatma Gandhi8217;s words: 8220;The moral to be legitimately drawn from the supreme tragedy of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima is that it will not be destroyed by counter-bombs, even as violence cannot be by counter-violence.8221; Some may also honestly question the argument that the bomb has been exploded in view of defence perceptions. On the ground, there is nothing to suggest that the situation haddeteriorated since the advent of this government. If at all, whatever was built in the last decade to improve relations with Islamabad and Beijing has been destroyed by the blasts.

The matter cannot be left to the BJP alone. The entire nation has to decide. The Prime Minister8217;s claim that India is a nuclear weapons state8217; goes beyond the legal meaning of the term. Under the NPT, the only nuclear weapons states are those which tested before 1968. Only they can keep their facilities intact. The CTBT says these are also the only ones allowed to carry out subcritical tests8217; in the laboratory. So if India is not accepted as a nuclear weapons state, it should not only dismantle everything connected with Operation Shakti but also accept international inspections and safeguards. The five nuclear powers will continue to sustain nuclear apartheid.

The fallout would have been smaller if the BJP leaders and Defence Minister George Fernandes, who loves his own voice, had not gone to town. The Prime Minister8217;spolitical adviser, Pramod Mahajan, who embarrasses the Ministry of External Affairs every hour, beats everyone in rhetoric and irresponsible statements. Some of the actions initiated by US Congressmen owe to his provocative pronouncements. However, the fallout of jingoism and arrogance reflected in the statements by some government leaders 8212; Home Minister L. K. Advani taking the lead 8212; has tried India8217;s ethos. Maybe this was the BJP8217;s hidden agenda. The party and the RSS are trying to convert the country into a right-wing state, which is not acceptable to the people. With 180 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, not even one-third of the House, they want to turn India from a peace-loving state into an aggressive country.

True, the Prime Minister has stopped the display of Pokharan dust, which was to be taken round the country like Advani8217;s rath was in 1990. The events of that time are too fresh and too raw to be forgotten. A Hindu-Muslim divide had surfaced even in the countryside. Subsequently, there waslarge-scale communal rioting. Vajpayee8217;s half-hearted liberal stand cannot stop the Vishva Hindu Parishad. It has decided to build Shakti Peeth, a place of pilgrimage, near Pokharan. Sants and sadhus will come with holy water to consecrate the site.

For the Prime Minister to turn the tide now, even if he wants to, is going to be difficult. The extremists are bent upon building an atmosphere of Hindu bravado. The genie of chauvinism has been released from the bottle. Between the Rathayatra and the demolition of the mosque, there was a time-lag of two and half years. A mid-term poll may come sooner than that because the RSS and the BJP want to harness the nuclear euphoria.

Is Vajpayee the person to limit the damage, presuming that his interest was confined to the bomb and not the antics of his party? It must be stopped, or cause immense damage to the polity. The BJP itself should know this. The party was defeated at the Assembly polls in UP, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh after the Babri Masjiddemolition. At the last Lok Sabha polls, the BJP tried to project itself as a party capable of providing able8217; and responsible8217; government. The party was able to increase its strength by 20-odd seats. What will the voters do when they discover they were cheated?The government8217;s National Agenda does not sanction the war psychosis that some central ministers are spreading. The BJP has never been straight. Its old habit is to bludgeon the nation into accepting a fait accompli. With the Babri demolition, it harmed India8217;s image of a pluralistic society. This time they have detonated the bomb and pushed the country into an arms race. The government8217;s statements are more rhetorical than informative. Despite their promise, they have not spelled out the new danger which led them to approve the tests. Nor have they explained why China is the number one enemy and why Pakistan should understand the changed strategic environment after the bomb. Hawks that they are, they have listened to hawks alone. In fact, the latterare doing all the explaining on behalf of the government. They never carried conviction earlier. How can they do so now?

The Ministry of External Affairs is a picture of confusion. Its belated diplomatic efforts should have been made earlier. Against the barrage of criticism they say see a ray of hope in the statements of lightweight Gabon. If the island of Tonga 8212; which has a vote in the UN 8212; also comes out in our support, should we clap our hands? The fact is that the leadership was itself so lost in euphoria that it made no prior preparations for adverse world reactions. This can be judged by the remarks of Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha who, when asked about preparations for sanctions, said: 8220;We will cross the bridge when we reach it.8221;

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The Prime Minister has aged 15 years. His replies have become monosyllabic and to his dismay, Pramod Mahajan has filled the vacuum. Who he represents is yet to be known because various people at various levels 8212; in the BJP and the government 8212; are speaking indifferent voices. The Prime Minister is busy contradicting one and silencing another.

New Delhi seems without policy. It has detonated the bomb, but nobody yet knows about India8217;s bomb policy. It has offered to have talks on the CTBT, but there is no response from the Big Five because they also see the lack of direction. And there is no doubt that the nation is deeply divided.