I have been a sceptical of the nuclear agreement as indeed many in Parliament. It is a convoluted in its structure, and first impressions did no do justice to its achievements. It was not surprising that mayhem broke loose (or headless chickens) when the Government approved its adoption. I am not happy that under the agreement Bharat has subscribed to a moratorium on testing even though Bharat is not a signatory to the Complete Test Ban Treat subscribed to by the nuclear powers. They have no pressing need for testing nuclear weapons because they already have fully tested design of the H-bomb. Even assuming Bharat fabricated such a device by computer simulation, there would be little confidence it would work in practice unless it is tested. More crucially, there would be little value for it as a credible nuclear deterrent. There has been much talk of the Government reneging on the NPA minimum core program of an independent foreign policy. This is a luxury that has already been sacrificed much to the chagrin of the communists. Bharat%u2019s defence as Singh should realise is going to be contingent on increasing convergence of interests between Bharat with America and her allies against the rising power of China if it is not deter it by its own force of arms.
I well understand Dr Sen's frustration given the only really informed debate has taken place in the media and not Parliament as he might have expected.
