The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) worked overtime, often late into the night with a few meetings lasting all night and in to last weekend to find an honourable and mutually acceptable forward path to meet India's nuclear ambitions. That this move was spearheaded by uncle Sam speaks volumes about India's growing credibility as a mature and responsible state which has a right to peaceful exploitation of the atom to meet its energy requirement, that is growing exponentially and has the potential to wreck havoc on international crude prices and can lead to considerably increased global warming.
It is also an acknowledgement that though India may not have signed The Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), it remains a nation where the world need not be afraid to transfer sophisticated nuclear technology since there is no chance whatsoever of the same flowing into wrong hands irrespective of which party is in power in New Delhi. Indian political establishment may have conducted the extensive negotiations, which saw the NSG and the Western nations often bending over backwards to accommodate India's aspirations but in reality it is the Indian democratic tradition that has really won the day for us.
I congratulate all fellow Indians on this historic occasion and look at the future with tremendous hope. The contours of a golden and rosy future, where power is available 24x7 across the country, where Rs 10,000 laptops can be plugged in at a roadside internet kiosks, where nuclear medicine would help pharma research scientists conquer the yet pervasive diseases, where IT companies would explore newer frontiers with nuclear capability and take India to an even higher level, really excite this generation of Indians.
It is also an earnest desire that while we try to conquer the power of the atom, we would also parallely endeavour to conquer hate and erase all forms of dogma, fanaticism and racial or communal bias. Then we could rightfully call ourselves a glorious nation. Then the Indian innings would have truly started.
It is now imperative upon our leadership to simultaneously attack illitracy and poverty. Imagine the might of a billion plus enlightened and secular Indians. They could then rule the minds of all mankind backed by a wonderful legacy of tolerance and co-existence, values that are so intrinsic to Indianness.
I see India emerge as a real 'Sone ki Chiriya' (Hin. Litt The Golden Bird : Prosperous and soaring high) in the 21st century.
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