The US-India nuclear fallout

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is in crisis: for the first time in democratic India, a foreign-policy issue has the potential to bring a government down. External issues have had an impact in the past: the Indo-China war weakened Jawaharlal Nehru; the IPKF operation in Sri Lanka likewise debilitated Rajiv Gandhi. On the flipside, foreign-policy adventures have also helped governments to stay in power: the Bangladesh war strengthened Indira Gandhi; the Kargil war helped Atal Behari Vajpayee win an election. But never before has a bilateral treaty with an international power led to such distance between ruling allies; eroded the credibility of the prime minister; polarised debate such that the left and right are together in opposition; and raised the rhetoric to an extent that the foremost question is whether the government will fall and midterm polls be announced.

At one level, the current brouhaha is indication that discussion and debate on foreign policy have at long last moved beyond the confines of South Block. It also has to do with the fact that, as India becomes a more important player in the international arena, such issues will gain prominence within the domestic political landscape. And this is what commentators are missing out on. The Congress-left tussle is more to do with the nature of the deal and its larger implications for India's positions on global issues – which will assume greater salience in times to come – than the actual text of the agreement. The differences also stem from the fact that the UPA-left partnership has been, from the outset, an unnatural alliance between ideologically incompatible political formations.