Britain denied it had double standards on terrorism, even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to downplay public differences with the Western world on Iraq by offering to train and rehabilitate sections of the Iraqi population such as its police.At a press conference, after a 45-minute meeting with Singh, British Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted that London ‘‘totally and absolutely condemned any terrorism in Kashmir as in other parts of the world — we don’t have any equivocation about this.’’Later, taking a leaf out of the ‘‘strategic partnership’’ between India and the US, both countries agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of civilian nuclear activities, space programmes and high-technology trade, expand defence cooperation and invoke the power of the enormous Indian diaspora in this country.A joint declaration called ‘‘The Prime Minister’s Initiative, Towards a New and Dynamic Partnership’’ was signed here this afternoon by Singh and Blair, which despite the jargon contained some nuggets capable of transforming the relationship to a new level.Blair avoided any distinctions between ‘‘freedom-fighters’’ and ‘‘terrorists’’, jargon that has often divided the western world and India over Kashmir, instead reiterating London’s unconditional support for a seat for India in a reinvented Security Council.In turn, Singh said, ‘‘it was more important to look into the future than delve into the past’’, in a reference to the UN Secretary-General’s recent description of the Iraq war as ‘‘illegal’’. Clearly, he didn’t want to embarrass Blair standing beside him. So, he commended the restoration of normalcy in Iraq and also used the occasion to sell India as a country which cannot be ignored any more, not only because of its population and size, but also because it was a unique experiment in democracy. ‘‘We are trying to build on our diversity a cohesive nation,’’ Singh said.Blair, at the receiving end of months of criticism on Iraq, seemed relieved that he only had to support India’s candidature for the Security Council. ‘‘India is a country of 1.2 billion people. If it is not represented then that’s not in tune with the times in which we live.’’Appropriately, even as both countries committed themselves to combating terrorism — a reference to the sometimes ugly formulations on ‘‘Kashmir’’ brought up by the local Pakistani community — London has, for the first time, agreed to promote cooperation in the area of civilian nuclear activities. As India remains opposed to signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), even in the six years after it went nuclear, London had been coy about engaging New Delhi in this area. Today’s joint declaration makes no mention about the NPT, clearly a concession to the Indian government, but instead speaks of an expansion of ‘‘high-technology trade’’. This is clearly a reference to a covert wink and nod that both countries have set themselves work to do in the years ahead.Both sides also committed themselves to ‘‘reinforcing (our) strategic partnership — build upon and expand programmes of joint military training and exercises.explore the co-production of defence equipment’’. The last is a reference to the Hawk jet trainer deal, while British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon will soon pay a visit to India.
