Ill -fated Nuclear Pact 4-1-2006

1, April 2006                    Ill-fated Nuclear Pact

It is a pity that many Indian Americans support the recent U.S.-India nuclear deal.

While Indian entrepreneurs and business moguls deserve much credit for biting off a sizeable piece of the world economic pie, over 700 million of our less fortunate breth­ren still live in abject poverty. It is therefore unconscionable that our scarce resources are being squandered to build more nuclear weapons that can never be used without causing self-immolation of Indian society and a rapid demise of our precious planet.

We become so enamored when the lone superpower glances coyly in our direction that we embrace an ill-fated deal that is driven purely by U.S. economic self-interest.

Indians and many Indian Americans seem to be intoxicated with the thought that we may soon be become senior members of the exclusive nuclear club.

Bush's overtures to India expose the bla­tant hypocrisy of U.S. foreign policy. It does not hesitate to castigate and bully Iran for its nuclear ambitions while rewarding India's re­fusal to sign the non-proliferation treaty.

India missed a wonderful opportunity to become a peacemaker and responsible custo­dian of our planet. It should have used this his­toric meeting with the United States and taken a lead role by insisting that the United States and its erstwhile allies—Britain, Israel and Pakistan—freeze production of nuclear weap­ons by signing the non-proliferation treaty and calling a halt to this nuclear madness, which is bringing us all to the brink of annihilation.

Let us hope the U.S. Congress stiffens its spine and kills the deal.