An article by Teresita C. Schaffer on India’s decision to put the U.S.-India Civilian Nuclear Agreement on hold.
The bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement (“123 Agreement”) India and the United States announced July 27, 2007 was a move towards implementing their civilian nuclear deal, and was greeted with jubilation inside both governments. Surveys suggested that it was popular with ordinary Indians. But it faced political explosions in India. Of the three Indian groups that had expressed concerns about the deal, one, the nuclear establishment, pronounced itself satisfied with the 123 Agreement. The other two went into rising choruses of opposition. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which many believe would happily have accepted the same deal had it been in power, objected on grounds that it might place restrictions on India’s nuclear arsenal.
Originally published in the Center for Strategic & International Studies‘ South Asia Monitor on October 26, 2007. Read the entire article.