Are we to judge our growing importance (compared to China) by the welcomes accorded and the statements made during summits? Or base it on genuine agreements and treaties?
People who are familiar with the Presidential addresses at the US House of Representatives wouldn’t have been pleasantly surprised at the stand-clap-sit routine yesterday during our PM’s address to the Senate. Though the PM did look at times completely nonplussed at the uninvited applause for harmless statements, he did make a couple of significant points which only a confident statesman sure of himself could have made.
Dr Singh laid out an elaborate ambit to explain the kind of entity that the US is dealing with: the largest “functioning democracy”. So the argument was the engagement with India comes with no catches. Atleast no self-respecting ones, given that Cold War now sounds like a fossil fuel and the politicians across the India-Pakistan border have lately worked hard at keeping issues within the neighbourhood. US might be willing to buy that line, given the statements coming out of the White House this time. The PM went on to say that the entrepreneurial and the business class were “enabling India to participate in the global economy as an equal partner.” Working for an American firm and a truly global one at that gives you an idea how India’s prosperity is important to the world.
Fusion energy for Gas is the latest exchange offer on the table. Go Nuclear, says Uncle Sam. This is the same country which blocked cryogenic technology imports into India saying they could also be inputs to missile production. So what will come of these summit-glorifying statements will only be known twelve.. maybe eighteen months down the line. The Leftists coming down heavily when it comes to opening the doors to our facilities to outsiders is a possibility. One wonders if there is any such thing as a civilian nuclear facility.
4 comments:
While nuclear energy was dismissed by most experts as being too expensive, risky and wasteful, of late it is coming back into fashion because of rising oil costs- and many european firms are setting up plants...
But for me the hih point if this summit was Singh's statement that China and Pak need not worry because o f growing cosyness between India and US..A grand gesture which also caused great laughter in China and Pak as well as Indians like me
I should have said allways skeptic and cynic Indians like me
uma
true. its good to see even our politicians grow out of the old mould of 'once-bitten twice-distant', and put pragmatism into our foreign policy.
das
india is the country which first mooted an 'asian century' along with russia and china. :)
You have an outstanding good and well structured site. I enjoyed browsing through it totally free nokia ringtone trannys 4 free
Post a Comment