The Grizzly Bear Hug

Prakash Karat March 06, 2006 00:00 IST The Grizzly Bear Hug -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

In recent months, two issues have highlighted the dangers of India’s strategic partnership with the United States. The first relates to India’s stand on Iran’s nuclear policy, the second concerns the ongoing negotiations regarding the terms of nuclear cooperation with the US. The Bush administration has interlinked these two issues, and pressure has been mounted on the Manmohan Singh government to acquiesce to the US view on both.

The situation is still unfolding, and serves as a warning on the perils of accepting a strategic partnership—and that too an utterly unequal one—with the US. When the Left opposed the Indo-US defence framework agreement of June 2005 and the subsequent July 18 joint statement, issued during the PM’s visit to Washington, the dominant news media and ruling circles sought to dismiss the Left’s stand as a product of unthinking anti-US prejudice. While it is an important concern of the Left to stress the need for an independent foreign policy and for fashioning a role for India in international relations...