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Journalism of Courage
Indians awoke yesterday to read headlines that were so much out of tune with the realities and perceptions in the country that the core reaction was to set it aside as a mistake made by the prime minister in the choice of his words, or by the media in what they heard. At the joint media interaction with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was reported to have said that the time was not ripe for India to sign the NPT. A logical corollary would be that it might sign it at some future date when the time would presumably be right. But the only way it can sign is by giving up its nuclear weapons; and that can happen only if universal nuclear disarmament becomes a reality.
It is true that the US and other members of the NPT remain committed to universal NPT adherence. But it has been far more pragmatic in its approach to India as the progress, however slow, on NSSP Next Steps in Strategic Partnership suggests. Sanctions on ISRO were recently lifted and US Under Secretary for Commerce and Industry Kenneth Juster is coming back to India for further discussions on the next steps. While we must not assume that the US would 8220;accept8221; India as a nuclear weapons state, we should also be confident that Washington seeks to build closer relations with India, which is 8212; as Manmohan Singh pointed out 8212; a responsible nuclear weapon power.
