The change in the American strategy essentially followed on the heels of hubbub in the US Congress, which has been against this deal from the very inception for varied reasons. The US Congress was initially led to believe that the nuclear deal would make it obligatory for India to separate its civilian and defence facilities, and the civilian facilities would automatically come under the IAEA safeguards, that would keep proliferation under check. A lot of clamour has been raised, and justifiably so, by almost the entire scientific community in India, especially the nuclear scientists, against whom disparaging remarks have been passed by the mandarins in the South Block, US-savvy intellectuals and some media personalities. The nation should feel proud of the scientific community, for bringing laurels to India. But a ‘comprehensive review’ is being sought of the working of the Department of Atomic Energy, on the charge that it continues to ‘defy larger national strategic goals in implementing the Indo-US nuclear pact’.

Should the nuclear agreement with the US be scrapped? This question has been posed by former Prime Minister V P Singh, who had earlier hailed it. “If the agreement is going to compromise our technological self-reliance and security interests… it should be straightaway scrapped”, he advised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Former chairman of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) Dr K Gopalakrishnan, while sharing V P Singh’s fears, felt that ‘tremendous’ harm would come to our nuclear programme by allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors to ‘nose around’ our nuclear establishments. This is insulting. V P Singh made it known that earlier he was under the impression that India was free to make its own choices on the question of separation of civilian and military facilities, and that the U S sanctions would go, making technology transfer possible. But this did not happen and does not seem to happen. ‘Recent events that have unfolded, belie the hope of the freedom to develop an Independent nuclear programme’, he emphasized. Soon after the nuclear agreement was signed, India was asked to make some ‘difficult choices’,

The issue perplexing the scientists is that the US wants India to put its Fast Breeder Reactor Development programme in the civilian area and make it open to the watchdog. The Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Anil Kakodkar has voiced concerns about Washington’s repeated plea-- using carrot and stick approach and browbeating India-- for placing special nuclear facilities on the civilian list, which amounts to changing the ‘goal post’. It is not for the US to decide about our future strategic interests. This is wherein the difficulty lies. How can India compromise on its sovereignty? This is beyond the July 18 joint statement by George W Bush and Manmohan Singh, making it discernible that the US is not honest.

India has the capability to build its own innovative reactor. The Indian scientists have developed thorium technology while the US, which has enough of uranium, lags far behind in this field. Our scientist President A P J Abdul Kalam wants India to go whole hog with its indigenous thorium-based programme, rather than rely upon imported nuclear fuels, which can be used as additionality. Indian scientists maintain that decision in this regard should rest with India. A country of India’s size and magnitude cannot permanently rely upon imported nuclear fuel, when it has vast thorium reserves. Even India can be a front runner in the developing thorium technology.

Our scientific community believes that plutonium technology is the real answer to the energy crunch. Though complex in nature, the entire technology, starting from production of plutonium in reactors to its isolation and utilization as fuel in power reactors has since been indigenized. While covering activities at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Barc) in mid 90s, I was given to understand that all types of nuclear fuels, containing plutonium, had been extensively investigated and fabricated in India. Plutonium-based breeder in India has the capacity to provide more than 3, 50,000 MW, in which thorium could be used to produce reliable electric power for many centuries. A decade ago, BARC scientists could foresee a rapid growth in nuclear power during the next 50 years, with safe and reliable operation of Fast Breeder Reactor.

Notwithstanding the environmentalists’ reference to plutonium as ‘bargain with the devil’ for energy-starved world, this man-made element has come to represent the hope for future, because the accumulated fissile inventory is equivalent to millions of tonnes of oil (or coal) in terms of its energy content. India requires ten-fold increase in nuclear power generation to achieve a ‘reasonable’ degree of energy self-sufficiency. So, it is essential to pursue the development of nuclear power, using thorium reserves. “Technological development has to be accelerated for thorium-based reactors and India should have access to technologies to provide a diverse supply of reliable, affordable and environmentally sustainable energy”, says President Kalam.

Kakodkar is against placing the FBRs in the civilian list as it would not be in India’s strategic interest and would put India into ‘another import trap’ to depend on supplies of imported enriched uranium. It would restrict India’s freedom to define its minimum credible deterrent. Some other nuclear countries are not enthusiastic about thorium-based technology. May be, they have enough of uranium.

India should be able to maintain its autonomy to develop the three-stage nuclear programme, which Kakodkar says ‘allows us to have the capacity of generating hundreds of thousands of MW of power for a long time to come’. The nuclear scientists’ motives are being questioned for opposing the separation plan. For instance, K Subramanian, head of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Global Strategic Development, says this country has been under a technological thraldom, imposed by the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the consequent technology denial regime. “By refusing to accept safeguards in any form, we will continue to languish in technology thraldom and be out of international science and technology circuit”, says he.

US hawks want a formal ‘cap’ on Indian production of fissile materials, which is unacceptable. Bush-Manmohan deal does not even accord India nuclear power status.

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