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G. R. Gopinath, an independent candidate for India's Parliament, said his state's failure to stop a mob attack on women at a bar stirred his activism.

Having written off politics as a crass and irrelevant ritual for at least a generation, India's urban elite is beginning to reconsider its role.

Meera Hiranandani Sanyal, a banker, said the death of a colleague in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last November prompted her to take a quixotic plunge into politics. Shocked by the government's failure to halt the siege for three days, Ms. Sanyal decided to run for a seat in India's 543-member Parliament.

In Bangalore, an entrepreneur who introduced budget airlines to India, G. R. Gopinath, said he was prompted to run as an independent by his state's failure to stop a mob attack on women drinking at a bar early this year.

In Hyderabad, the prosperous tech city, a new party called Loksatta has cast itself as the voice of urban, middle-class India. Loksatta, or People's Power, is fielding more than a dozen candidates in the parliamentary elections, which begin Thursday and go on for five weeks around India.

The assertiveness of the urban elite is new in a country where the village still dominates the political imagination. In India, unlike in the United States, voter participation rates in wealthy city neighborhoods tend to be lower than the national average. Two out of three Indians still live in the countryside, where turnout is consistently higher.

Redistricting this year has given Indian cities greater representation in Parliament, and champions of the handful of new entrants say the outcome of many races will depend on a small number of votes. Still, the impact of the new candidates will be known only when results are declared in mid-May.

The candidates and like-minded citizen groups have started a lively debate about a variety of issues, including the prevalence of caste, the lack of transparent campaign financing and the rising number of criminals in politics. A tally by National Election Watch, a civic group, has found that one in five members of Parliament have criminal charges pending against them or have been convicted of a crime.

Groups like Bangalore-based Jaagore, or Wake Up, have been helping first-time voters to register. Here in Mumbai, a gay and lesbian group, Queer Azaadi Mumbai, has canvassed major parties on where they stand on gay issues, a once-unthinkable effort in a country where homosexual acts remain illegal. And Facebook, the social networking Web site, has become a campaign tool in a country where traditional politicians still go door to door to ask for votes.

Skeptics of the candidates say that while they may bring a handful of middle-class voters back to the polling booths, independents like Ms. Sanyal and Mr. Gopinath have little or no chance without political experience and party backing. (Some of the new entrants are running with the mainstream political parties.) Others complain that the independents, no matter how sincere, will draw votes away from experienced politicians with good track records.

"It's a little foolhardy," said Sidharth Bhatia, the editorial page editor of The Daily News and Analysis, a Mumbai newspaper. "They're not going to win votes on Facebook."

Several of the new candidates are critical of their own indifference to politics. Mr. Gopinath, 57, recounted his own feelings as he watched television images of the young women at a bar being assaulted by a mob in Mangalore, in his own Karnataka State, in January. "I said, `Can we afford the privilege of being indifferent?' " he remembered thinking. "The cocoon we have been inside is very fragile."

In the outsourcing hub of Gurgaon one recent morning, a tech professional named Gaurav Mehta, 28, visited the cafeteria of a call center, rounding up an audience for his PowerPoint presentation. He walked them through the voter registration process and pointed them to the Web site of Jaagore, for which he volunteers, to learn about candidates.

Two men continued to play pool, uninterested in his pitch. One asked if he had to go to an election office to register; the answer was yes. Another said: "You're telling me to vote, but for whom? I am 40. I've never voted once."

Mr. Mehta's message to his peers was simple: "Why are you cribbing? You're letting other people choose that kook."

The November terrorist attacks, which focused on upscale hotels, underscored the fact that even those Indians who live in gated enclaves, drive in air-conditioned cars and can afford their own health care, need the government to keep them safe. The attacks, which began on the evening of Nov. 26, and are known here as 26/11, unleashed anger against the political class. A civic group called Agni has registered 11,000 new voters on college campuses since the attacks.

"My trigger, what tipped me, was 26/11," said Ms. Sanyal, 47, the head of India operations for the multinational ABN-Amro. "No one was in charge, and it was a complete shock."

Ms. Sanyal is competing for a seat against the incumbent with the governing Indian National Congress Party, as well as a candidate from the radical Hindu party Shiv Sena.

On a recent Sunday morning, Ms. Sanyal, wearing a blue shalwar kameez and running shoes, approached morning walkers at Priyadarshini Park, in the heart of her own wealthy Malabar Hill neighborhood. She pressed her campaign agenda: a directly elected mayor for Mumbai, greater government investment for infrastructure, police reform and better coastal defense. She urged them to go out and vote, and to encourage their drivers and maids, too.

"We will certainly vote, but how much is our percentage?" an elderly man said ruefully. Several others applauded her for her courage.

Sunil Vaswani, 50, an executive with a global logistics company, was suspicious of why Mumbai's polling day, April 30, had been scheduled before a long weekend. "Is it intentionally done to keep out educated voters?" he wanted to know.

Ms. Sanyal suggested that they go to the polls as soon as they opened on the morning of April 30, and then drive out of town for their weekend.

New Delhi and Washington signed a civilian nuclear deal in 2008 under Obama's predecessor George W. Bush, reversing decades of U.S. non-proliferation policies, and bilateral ties are at their closest for years.

India is trying to mount a diplomatic offensive against nuclear-armed rival Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks that killed 179 people in November.

New Delhi wants Islamabad to crack down on the Pakistan-based militants who India and the United States say were behind the attacks. India accuses some Pakistan state agencies of involvement, a charge its neighbour strongly denies.

"The letter focuses on the multi-faceted relationship that is anchored in the common values of democracy, pluralism and respect for diversity, shared by the two countries," the government statement said.

"These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis; these are the longterm investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long," Obama said in the weekly Democratic radio address. The economic recovery plan being developed aims to create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011, and he wants to get it through Congress quickly and sign it soon after taking office.

He called the plan "big enough to meet the challenges we face" and said that it will jump-start job creation but also "lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy".

Aides said the economic plan outlined on Saturday went further that the presi dent-elect has gone before.

Obama acknowledged that evidence is growing the country is "facing an economic crisis of historic proportions". He noted turmoil on Wall Street, a decrease in new home purchases, growing jobless claims and the menacing problem of deflation.

He said he was pleased Congress passed an extension of unemployment benefits this week, but added, "We must do more to put people back to work and get our economy moving again."

Even before the roll eall began in the US Senate on Wednesday evening, the outcome was clear Minutes earlier, the senators had summarily rejected an amendment introduced by the non-proliferation advocates. Then the ayes and nays were counted.

The final tally for the US-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act was 8613, nearly identical to the 85-12 vote for the Hyde Act, the enabling legislation.

The House of Representatives passed the measure on Saturday All that remains is the signing.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to reach New Delhi on Saturday It is expected that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and she will sign the civil nuclear cooperation agreement.

"I look forward to signing this bill into law and continuing to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership," US President George W. Bush said in a statement issued after the Senate vote.

"This legislation will strengthen our global nuclear non-proliferation efforts, protect the environment, create jobs, and assist India in meeting its growing energy needs in a responsible manner," Bush added.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as well as Republican candidate John McCain voted in favour of the measure.

"A country that was seen through the lens of technology denial is now part of the nuclear mainstream," said Dr Anupam Srivastava, director of the Asia programme at the Centre for International Trade and Security at the University of Georgia. When the Senate convened in the morning, two Democrats, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, were expected to introduce amendments.

In an interview to leading French daily Le Figaro, Singh, who is on a two-day visit to France, said the crisis affecting the developed countries at the moment, can spread to the rest of the world and wanted India and China to be part of solution finding exercise.    

"We live in an interdependent world and the fate of all countries is related to the international financial system.    

"Our value markets are opened to the world and, if they are affected, this will affect our capacity to finance our development," he said. "If the financial crisis causes a recession in the main economies, this will compromise our exports."    

"The proposal of President Nicholas Sarkozy (for a summit to examine consequences of financial crisis) is fundamental," Singh said adding India was a potentially significant player but not a decisive actor.    

"The main responsibility is that of developed countries, but India and China must take part in the solution," he said.    

Asked if New Delhi preferred bilateral agreements like the free exchange agreement with the European Union, rather than multilateral negotiations within the framework of WTO, the Prime Minister said the agreement with EU was not substitute for WTO negotiations and it was complimentary.    

"With other countries we are working towards a success of the Doha Agreements. The free exchange agreement with the EU is not a substitute for Doha. It is complementary. I would call this 'Doha plus'," Singh said.

A bill passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday seeks to impose punitive measures in case India tests a nuclear weapon - provisions that sources describe as being harsher than those contained in the Hyde Act.

Meanwhile, an Indian-American community leader, who has been closely involved with the deal, told The Tribune that the Indian government was "extremely upset" with the contents of the bill and "will definitely reject" it.

The bill sailed through on a 19-2 vote in the key Senate committee, but with a financial crisis on Wall Street occupying lawmakers' consideration, officials say final approval is likely to come down to the wire. Two Democratic senators - Barbara Boxer of California and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin - voted against the deal. Feingold proposed the sole amendment intended to toughen restrictions on selling India technology to reprocess nuclear fuel. His amendment was defeated 15-4 in a vote.

Swadesh Chatterjee of the US-India Friendship Council told The Tribune, "There was obviously a big disconnect between the Indian government and the State Department, which blessed the deal."

Chatterjee said Indian officials had told him New Delhi would not accept the present language of the bill. North Carolina-based Chatterjee, who is camping in Washington to drum up support for the nuke deal, said there is a "good chance that they will freeze the whole bill and do it next year, rather than accept it as it is in the current format".

Noting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had spoken with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman to push the House version of the bill through on Wednesday, Chatterjee predicted the House bill will be similar to the Senate version.

Section 101 of the bill states: "The Agreement shall be subject to the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the Henry J Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006, and any other applicable United States law."

Manmohan Singh shakes hand with Indian Ambassador to US Ronen Sen on his arrival in New York.

Top Congressional aides are not sure when or how the process on the deal is going to be completed with one assessment being that it may not be fully ready for signing when Singh meets Bush at the White House on Thursday.

The powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday voted to approve the bill by 19-2, sending it to the full Senate with only two lawmakers -- Barbara Boxer and Russel Feigngold (both Democrats) -- opposing the measure.

The approval means that the Indo-US bill is now in the office of the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada who will have to schedule it for a vote after consultations with the Republican Minority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell.

But the House Foreign Affairs Committee, headed by a major critic of the accord Howard Berman, is yet to schedule a hearing to take a decision on a vote of approval.

"The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved a Senate Bill. What happens in the House is separate," a top House Congressional aide told PTI, stressing nothing could be said about the timing in the House.

With great power comes great responsibility.: Manmohan Singh with George Bush

Why is India the sixth power?
It's now in a distinct category. It keeps its nuclear weapons and can also now buy nuclear technology in the world market. Only the US, UK, France, Russia and China have this privilege. Nuclear blockade ends.

But what about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
India's exceptional nuclear status recognised even though India has not signed the NPT.

Why was this exception made?
As recognition of India as an emerging power, its responsible record on non-proliferation, its vibrant democracy, strategic importance, growing economy, large market and knowledge industry.

Challenges abroad?

India will have to balance its new proximity to the US with good relations with other major powers such as Russia. It will also have to prove its leadership in an unstable neighbourhood. Toughest country to handle? Obviously China, given Beijing's attempts to hem India in. Latest example: Chinese duplicity during the NSG battle despite India's extreme overtures, including restrictions on the Tibetans, the Dalai Lama, and playing down border violations.

Challenges at home?
You know them well: poverty, infrastructure, education, communalism and separatism.

source: By Seema Sirohi From Outlook 20/Sep/2008

The move by the White House comes five days after the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) granted a waiver to India for carrying out nuclear commerce.

In a statement, the White House said it was transmitting the text of the agreement between the US and India "concerning peaceful uses of nuclear energy".

"The proposed Agreement provides a comprehensive framework for US peaceful nuclear cooperation with India. It permits the transfer of information, non-nuclear material, nuclear material, equipment (including reactors) and components for nuclear  research and nuclear power production.

"It does not permit transfers of any  restricted data. Sensitive nuclear technology, heavy-water production technology and production facilities, sensitive nuclear facilities, and major critical components of such facilities may not be transferred under the agreement unless it is amended," the statement said.

A clear indication of the administration's intent was given by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said the time was short and that she had talked to the heads of the committees of both the houses of Congress for pushing through the deal. "I have already talked before this NSG (meeting), several weeks before, to relevant committee chairs about trying to get it done, and I will have those conversations again, most likely on Monday or Tuesday, as well as trying to see whether the leadership believes that this can go forward," Rice told reporters in Algiers, the capital of Algeria while on a visit there.

Rice, however said, the time was "very short", adding: "We knew that in the summer, when the Indians were able finally to move this forward in their domestic process."

"But I think we have demonstrated the commitment of the administration to this agreement, because we have worked this with the very, very strong help of partners through the IAEA and through the NSG in very rapid order," she said.

With a formidable hurdle cleared in the nuclear cartel NSG, eyes are now on the US Congress, which begins a short session tomorrow, for ratification of the 123 civil nuclear cooperation agreement signed between President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July 2005 before the end of Bush's term in mid-January.

Normally, 30 working days is the mandatory period required for a legislation to be passed in both the houses of the Congress but there are procedures for short-circuiting this period, a device that can be invoked by Bush so that he is in a position to ratify the 123 Agreement when Manmohan travels to Washington later this month.

For this, the initiative has to come from the administration. Such an initiative is widely expected from an administration that is clearly short on foreign policy achievements under Bush other than the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard L Berman on Tuesday released a 26-page letter written by the Bush Administration in January 2008 that clearly establishes the fact that the US will not sell sensitive nuclear technologies to India and would instantly terminate nuclear trade if India lifted its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear testing. Contrary to Singh's statements in Parliament, the letter also clarifies that while fuel supplies are not pledged in perpetuity, India has agreed that "safeguards can and should be regarded as being 'in perpetuity'."

The most damaging part of the letter, however, is the fact that it categorically states the Indian Government has all along been aware of these conditions attached to the deal. "This letter contains no new conditions and there is no data in this letter which has not already been shared in an open and transparent way with members of the Congress and with the Government of India," US Ambassador David C Mulford said. Many portions of the letter, however, fly in the face of Singh's assurances to Parliament............

PM in Parliament
India wants removal of restrictions on all aspects of cooperation and technology transfers pertaining to civil nuclear energy, ranging from nuclear fuel, nuclear reactors, to reprocessing spent fuel. We will not agree to any dilution that would prevent us from securing the benefits of full civil nuclear cooperation.

Bush Administration letter
The United States rarely transfers dual-use items for sensitive nuclear activities to any cooperating party.

PM in Parliament
Detailed fuel supply assurances by the US for the uninterrupted operation of our nuclear reactors are reflected in full in the 123 Agreement.

Bush Administration letter

Should India detonate a nuclear explosive device, the United States has the right to cease all nuclear cooperation with India immediately, including the supply of fuel.

The fuel supply assurances are not...meant to insulate India against the consequences of a nuclear explosive test or a violation of non-proliferation commitments.

PM in Parliament
I confirm that there is nothing in these agreements which prevents us from further nuclear tests if warranted by our national security concerns. All that we are committed to is a voluntary moratorium on further testing.

There is nothing in the Agreement that would tie the hands of a future Government or legally constrain its options to protect India's security and defence needs.

An elaborate multi-layered consultation process has been included with regard to any future events that may be cited as a reason by either party to seek cessation of cooperation or termination of the 123 Agreement.

Bush Administration letter
Article 14 of the proposed US-India agreement for cooperation provides for a clear right for the US to terminate nuclear cooperation and a right to require the return of equipment and material subject to the agreement in all of the circumstances required under the Atomic Energy Act, including if India detonated a nuclear explosive device.

PM in Parliament
India's right to take 'corrective measures' will be maintained even after the termination of the Agreement.

Bush Administration letter
Until India has completed its safeguards agreement with the IAEA and the parameters of 'corrective measures' are known, we will not be in a position to speak definitively to the potential effect on other provisions of the proposed agreement.

The Indo-US nuclear deal passed its first test on an international platform with the 35-member board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) unanimously approving the India-specific safeguards agreement.

The agreement, however, didn't sail through without some members voicing their concerns that it may undermine the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran slammed the deal, though its ire was primarily directed at the US, which wants to stall Teheran's nuclear plans. (India had voted against Iran at the IAEA at the US' behest at the IAEA, in 2005 and 2006. The first time was to condemn Iran for not meeting its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and again to report Iran to the UN Security Council.)

The deal now goes to the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), seeking exemptions to ensure nuclear fuel supply for 14 Indian nuclear power reactors covered under the pact under the 123 agreement. But the waiver, which will bring India into the mainstream of international nuclear commerce, is expected to be a tough bargain.

The NSG is scheduled to meet probably on August 21-22. Many countries there may push for conditions keeping in mind their domestic non-proliferation lobbies. If cleared by the NSG, the deal will finally land in the US Congress for a vote on ratification.

But the fact that no member of the 35-nation IAEA, including Pakistan, pushed for a vote at the meeting on Friday is a bonus. Indian and American officials worked overtime to get the consensus and US pressure stayed Pakistan's hand.
Strategic analyst K Subrahmanya agreed that there are two more crucial steps before the country can celebrate. "The next two steps -- the NSG waiver and the US Congress vote -- are important. I will be happy when foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee and US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice put their signature on the 123 agreement."

Proceedings began in Vienna on Friday morning with IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei batting vigorously for the India-specific safeguards agreement.

"The India specific safeguards should go through the IAEA when it meets. We do not foresee any major problem on this front. Of course, as far as the NSG is concerned, let us go step by step," officials involved in negotiations with the NSG countries said.

Meanwhile, the preliminary draft of the note that the US plans to circulate among the NSG has been reportedly exchanged with India though the final draft is likely to be given after the August 1 meeting of the IAEA board.

India is insisting that the draft should neither make any mention of nuclear testing nor contain any additional conditions outside the Indo-US Joint Statement issued on July 18, 2005, in Washington during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Though most NSG countries have no objection to India joining them in undertaking nuclear trade, some of them are against granting any special favour to New Delhi, which is not a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). They are of the view that conditions should be attached while giving `exemption' to India.

Losing grip? George Bush, Manmohan Singh in Delhi, Mar 2, '06

Whatever the outcome of the Olympian political games under way around the Indo-US nuclear deal, India's credibility as a serious negotiator has taken a beating. The government's inability to fish or cut bait has intangible costs that may show up later with wider ripples than anticipated. Experts say that if India is unable to proceed with the next steps required to break down the architecture of nuclear discrimination, it will suffer a major loss of face on the world stage. Future prime ministers may feel the heat when countries hesitate to make grand bargains with India in the years to come.

Diplomats in New Delhi can't understand why India is looking a gift horse in the mouth so hard and so long.

With several countries eyeing the nuclear market potential in India, "no threat of US dominance exists".

They just don't get it. The Indo-US nuclear deal is widely believed to be stacked in India's favour, yet political consensus seems elusive. British high commissioner Sir Richard Stagg spoke for many of his colleagues when he said, "The UK has supported this initiative from the beginning.
We believe it can contribute to the security of India's energy supplies, to its economic growth and to limiting climate change. Given the complexities of negotiating international agreements, I personally do not see how India could have got a better deal."

Even though Left parties believe the proposed changes in the nuclear order to accommodate India's unique status as a nuclear weapons power is a devious plan to pull New Delhi into Washington's tight embrace, in reality the effort involves all major countries--Russia, France, Britain and the US--and opens the door for India to buy uranium for existing nuclear power plants. The Russians, ready with an agreement to build new nuclear reactors in India, are dismayed at the political paralysis in Delhi.