Finally, after a week of Babel, the government has chosen to speak in an official voice. And it has taken a responsible stand worthy of a na...
3 min read
Whatsapp
Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Finally, after a week of Babel, the government has chosen to speak in an official voice. And it has taken a responsible stand worthy of a nation that aspires to superpower status. Now that India has displayed adequate levels of political maturity and confidence, it must concentrate on consolidating its new position. It is time to talk. Support for India8217;s stand has come from all quarters, even from unexpected ones like Kofi Annan8217;s office. It would be a pity if the government is unable to capitalise on this goodwill simply because it is tardy in reaching the negotiating table. Though the moratorium implies that India is ready for discussions, it should now unequivocally spell out its stand on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Earlier, it had indicated a readiness to accept certain clauses of the document. Now it should declare its position on those it finds unacceptable.
At the same time, it should try to control jingoistic sentiments at home. The initial burst of euphoria was only to expected in an eventof this magnitude, but now the government should gently remind people that the bomb was intended to make a point in the international arena, not to wage immediate war against neighbours. The point has been made. India has shown that it is able to take care of itself. It has also challenged the moral authority of the five nuclear weapons powers to force nuclear apartheid upon the rest of the world. Now, it is time for old-fashioned diplomacy to take over. Whatever tangible gains India makes out of the tests will be forged at the negotiating table, bilaterally and multilaterally. But it will be difficult to advance such a process profitably when India also has to explain why Pepsi trucks are being burned in Gujarat. It was perfectly acceptable for the adherents of the sangh parivar to protest against US trade interests in India. But to zero in on the most easily identifiable icon of those interests in order to vandalise its property betrays an immaturity that will do India8217;s image absolutely nogood.
You’ve Read Your Free Stories For Now
Sign up and keep reading more stories that matter to you.
At this point, India has to project itself as a responsible nation. It has to convince the world that it appreciates the implications of thermonuclear capability, and that it intends to keep out of any arms race in South Asia. Arson attacks in retaliation to economic sanctions, on the contrary, will convince the world of the validity of its worst suspicions. So will unwarranted speculation on how many nuclear devices India can deploy, and how soon. Here on, hopefully, the government will continue to speak in a single, definitive voice 8212; preferably a voice that speaks the politically correct idiom of diplomacy. True, it should have gone through the current moves a week ago. The no-first-use guarantee should have been offered right after the tests, to quench the pointless belligerence that resurgent nationalism drew forth. Again, the moratorium on further testing should have been declared immediately after the last two tests, when the government announced that it had enough data to run computersimulations. But now, these little errors of judgment will be forgotten as a strong, responsible India defines its stand on its security.
