U.S. Charges India With Helping Iran On Covert Nuke Program

by Ranjit Devraj

(IPS) NEW DELHI -- India is irked over allegations by Washington that its scientists have passed on nuclear technology to Iran, and leaders as well as experts here are inclined to believe that the charges are a ploy to restrict New Delhi's plans to develop nuclear power programs that could reduce its dependency on oil from big American corporations.

In their claims made last month, Washington named two top Indian scientists Y.S.R. Prasad and C. Surendar -- both former heads of the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation -- as being involved in the deal with Iran.

The scientists are now barred from visiting the U.S. or dealing with U.S.-based companies.

The Indians were among 14 "entities," including seven from China and one each from Belarus, North Korea, Russia, Spain and Ukraine to face the sanctions.

"A rapidly developing country like India needs cheap and clean energy sources that do not burn up fossil fuels and, indeed, so do similar countries like Iran and Brazil," Jasjit Singh, one of India's most respected strategic analysts told IPS in an interview.

India imports 70 percent of its petroleum and officials estimate that India's oil import bill could rise by 50 percent to $27 billion during the current fiscal year as against the $18 billion dollars in fiscal 2003-04 on account of spiraling international prices.

Singh, former director of the prestigious Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (IDSA), and editor of the forthcoming publication 'Nuclear Power and Non-proliferation' said following the recent hike in petroleum prices, nuclear energy had become vital for India's socio-economic progress.

"Powerful international oil and energy lobbies naturally have a big stake in India's energy needs," he said.

India has denied the nuclear proliferation charges and, last week, officials at the Ministry of External Affairs said they had formally countered Washington's demand for proof that the two men are innocent by asking the Bush administration to prove its own charges.

Curiously enough the charges and counter-charges come at a time when India and the United States have begun sweeping aside decades of mutual suspicion on dual-use technology issues through what is officially called the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP).

In mid- September, the Bush administration announced the partial lifting of sanctions on equipment and know-how for India's space and nuclear progams imposed after the country tested a nuclear weapon in 1974 with the backing of the former Soviet Union.

Since then U.S. officials have said they are considering the imposition of curbs on some Indian 'entities' suspected of having aided Tehran's alleged nuclear weapons progam. For its part, Iran has insisted that its nuclear progam was peaceful and had no weapons component.

Only last Saturday Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reiterated India's own long-held position at its nuclear facilities in southern Tamil Nadu state where a 2,000 megawatt nuclear power station is being built. He said that this country "will not be the source of proliferation of sensitive technologies."

India has steadfastly refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on the grounds that it was discriminatory and has gone ahead to build up its nuclear and space progams indigenously while insisting that it was against proliferation.

In 1998 India again demonstrated its capability by testing nuclear weapons and its successful launch by 2001 of Geo-Stationary Launch Vehicles (GSLV)s showed New Delhi's mastery over cryogenic engine technology that is used in inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBM)s.

In the present imbroglio, it does not help that India and Iran chalked up last January a 'New Declaration' of cooperation that set forth a "vision of strategic partnership for a more stable, secure and prosperous region."

While India has taken no official position on Iran's current predicament, in which it is being threatened with international sanctions, Manmohan Singh indicated on Saturday that he disapproved of U.S. policy that denied technology to countries.

"Technology denial and closing the avenues for international cooperation in some more important fields is tantamount to denial of development benefits to millions of people," Manmohan Singh said at the nuclear facility in Tamil Nadu where he laid the foundation stone for a new fast-breeder power plant using locally available thorium as nuclear fuel.

U.S. led sanctions prevent the export of uranium to India but this country happens to have the world's largest known reserves of thorium and its nuclear power proramme is centered around the alternative radioactive material.

"We are determined to utilise its (nuclear technology's) full potential for the national good. It can also be a much needed cushion against fluctuations in oil prices," added the premier.

India is currently embarked on a progam to generate 20,000 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power by 2020 and by 2008 it would be generating 4000 MW of nuclear energy including 2,000 MW coming from the Russian-built reactors at Koodankumankulam.

Leading nuclear scientists from several Third World countries meeting in the Italian port city of Trieste on Oct 4 and 5, raised the issue of U.S. sanctions crippling technologies vital for their rapid development by labeling them 'dual-use' or having both civilian and military application.

"They are mixing the legitimate use of frontline technology for genuine development with military applications," said the physicist M.H. A. Hassan, while attending that 40th anniversary celebrations of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) at Trieste.

Hassan said nuclear and space technology had too many peaceful applications that could not be ignored by developing countries and his views were shared by top ranking scientific delegates from countries as far as Brazil and Bangladesh.