aditya kumar's weblog

I had my own doubts about the recently concluded India-US Civil Nuclear Deal. The administration of both countries insist that this has nothing to do with the Bomb but the critics say otherwise. I am not a critic of the whole Nuclear deal per-se, but yes, I am concerned and I have my own doubts about the same. Since I am still reading all the material I can get on it, I am yet to arrive on a conclusion of my own. On the whole, I hope that the critics are wrong.

Yesterday night, rediff.com organized a chat with Dr. Sumit Ganguly. SG, as he prefers to calls himself, is an expert in the political affairs regarding the Indian Subcontinent. He is the “Rabindranath Tagore Professor of Indian Cultures and Civilizations”, and also Professor of Political Science, at the Indiana University. His articles have been published in publications like “The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists” and “The Washington Quarterly”.

I went to the chatroom with my questions, and to my pleasant surprise, Dr Sumit answered all of them. Understandably, his answers were precise and to the point. Here, I would like to post our conversation.

Truman asked, Dr.Ganguly, why does this deal matter so much? Nuclear Energy would amount to a maximum of 6-7% of India’s total need of energy.

Sumit Ganguly answers, No, the estimates are considerably higher especially if one can modernize existing plants and add new ones. Energy efficiency in India is extremely low.

Truman asked, Thanks for replying to my question, SG. Do you think a Nuclear Bomb equipped India is better for America?

Sumit Ganguly answers, Not really. India should have its nuclear arsenal for its own strategic reasons.

Truman asked, Dr.Sumit, then the theory of “powering India to counterbalance the ‘China’ threat” is flawed? Does it exist in the first place? Because if it does, then I am sure a Nuclear (read Bomb) powered India is what America needs.

Sumit Ganguly answers, Yes, it is. Because I doubt that very many Indians want to play that role even while they perceive a legitimate threat from China.

Truman asked, SG, then would it be safe to conclude that the Nuclear Deal has NOTHING to do with the bomb? And you also mentioned that you do not see China offering a similar deal to Pakistan. Why not?

Sumit Ganguly answers, It has to do with accepting the reality of India’s nuclear status, its role as a growing regional power and with an interest in India’s markets.

Truman asked, One last question sir. Why don’t you see a similar deal in offing for Pakistan from China?

Sumit Ganguly answers, Largely because the Chinese do not wish to provoke the United States and also they have their own misgivings about Pakistan.

So there. The full chat transcript can be found on rediff, here.