Gargling sheep

It always amuses me to see leader writers torn between the need to stand by the government on foreign policy issues and their own innate sense that the government has made a dog`s breakfast of past policies. The poor dears start gargling like sheep in extremis. If you don`t believe me read what they said about the nuclear deal with the US.

By and large, as befits good boys, they were supportive of what the good doctor, Manmohan Singh, had agreed to, namely, that India would cap its nuclear arsenal provided the US made it possible to get new technology for civilian use. The exception was the Pioneer which complained that India had "committed itself to taking steps that could result in drastically refashioning its nuclear policy" which necessitated international inspection, which in turn tied India`s hands and clip its wings. Specifically, it said that India would lose its flexibility in deciding the size of its minimum deterrent and that this was bad for national security. Worse, the US had not made any promises at all to which it could be held.

The counter points were made by the government`s new mouthpiece, The Hindu and the its friend on Indo-US affairs, Indian Express. The latter said "the nuclear agreement affirms the depth and maturity of the India-US engagement" and added " It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that our political parties work together to leverage India`s new power towards creating a sustainable nuclear programme. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserves credit for his perseverance and his ability to carry along all the branches of government with him in this endeavour." It refused to discuss the key issues raised by Pioneer and several experts. Where the US is concerned, the Express has a one point agenda.

The Hindu was caught between the need to be supportive of the government and also not let the left down. So it entered some "caveats", namely that " the substance of the Indo-U.S. nuclear bargain, which has constructive potential for the non-military, peaceful side of India`s nuclear energy programme and offers the prospect of the country coming out of its post-1974 isolation in the international nuclear energy arena, must not be missed in the name of criticising the method." I found this very funny. A newspaper that doesn`t trust President Bush at all found no difficulty in accepting his promises at face value.

Then it came to the point. "Is the deal a net gain or loss for India?" The answer, it said, depends on whether you are a hawk or dove. "It is probably a loss from the standpoint of the hawkish votaries of India`s post-May 1998 nuclear weaponisation… If the deal means "capping" dangerous ambitions of developing India`s so-called minimum credible deterrent, that `loss` will clearly be to the benefit of the people of India and the region."

All the rest, such as the Telegraph, Deccan Herald and the Tribune wrote wishy-washy, on-the-one- hand, on-the-other-hand stuff. The Hindi papers were no better. The readers were left no wiser than when he woke up that morning. They deserved a better deal on such a crucial issue.