'I'm India-Centric'

WASHINGTON

Forty years of experience in politics and dealing with the world have givenPranab Mukherjee the toughness of a good negotiator. He was around in the"un-shining" days of India to face an unrelenting world. Today when suitorsare aplenty, he has to maximise India’s advantage. And why not? His four-dayvisit to the United States was an exercise in just that.

"No one is going to get a free lunch" Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjeetold me in an exclusive chat covering various aspects of the fast-moving defencerelationship. Interestingly, he had just come back from dinner with VicePresident Dick Cheney, whom he met twice in one day, Defence Secretary DonaldRumsfeld, National Security Adviser Steve Hadley, Commerce Secretary CarlosGutierrez and other luminaries of the Washington power set. The hosts werereally laying out a thick red carpet. Over salmon and white wine, he told theheavy duty American line-up what India wanted and needed. In one word:Technology. Nuclear technology, dual-use technology, clean coal technology. "Ihave assured them that all transfers will be confidential. They can depend onit," he said, as he looked over the new framework agreement on Indo-US defencerelations which Rumsfeld and he signed the next day.

Mukherjee is single-minded in pushing India’s advantage. If the Americanswant India as a real strategic partner in Asia, they must lift restrictions onhigh-technology instead of forcing India to continue slowly, sometimes veryslowly, developing what it needs indigenously. The Indian defence and scientificestablishment anyway wants little dependence on a country that has had such ahard time accepting Indian security needs and compulsions. Americans stilldon’t fully understand, let alone appreciate, why a young nation, just freedfrom the claws of colonialism, sought to strike a path independent of blocpolitics and why the fear of "dependence" is so acute in the rulinggeneration.

"Attitudinal changes" are required on both sides. India has amply shownthat it is increasingly less Pakistan-centric when interacting with theAmericans and now it is up to Washington to return the favour. "We expect theAmericans not to look at us through the Pakistan prism." Will the Americansrespond to Pakistani demands for equal treatment as they have in the past?Within hours of Mukherjee and Rumsfeld signing the 10-year defence agreement,noises began in Islamabad about how it would destabilise the strategic balancein South Asia. In other words, they want one too. Hopefully the BushAdministration will be able to act on its stated policy of de-linking the twocountries in its mind.

Mukherjee was a judicious combination of sagacity and statecraft. Even humour.He needled and pushed the Americans where necessary but was open about thefuture. "We have to come out of the shadow of the past. But my friendship withone need not stand in the way of my friendship with another." The UPAgovernment has to walk a fine line on anything to do with the Americans, thanksto the opposition within its own support base. Mukherjee knows that fully welland he himself harbours some doubts. He was a match for Rumsfeld but without thecursory dismissiveness of the US defence secretary who can discard old allianceswith a flick of a hand.

Old Indians are acutely aware of the neo-cons’ penchant to create a neworder. India wants a part and is ready to share its "responsibility" underinternational law. But it is hesitant to join any formal group aimed atcountering a particular country. China can feel reassured. When I askedMukherjee if he was trying to provoke the Bush crowd by pointedly expanding onthe virtues of a multipolar world in a capital where the reigning dictum is"either you are with us or against us," the defence minister was himselfprovoked. "This is our view, our vision. I can’t be Washington-centric justbecause I am in Washington. I won’t be London-centric in London. I amIndia-centric." Touche.

The message is clear -- the Americans must deliver goods besides goodambience. He is keenly watching what is going from Washington to India’s"adversaries" and Indian calculations will factor that in. One fact thatcontinues to baffle all is why the Americans won’t push Pakistan to close downterrorist camps on its eastern border. Do they really believe that there areclear divisions in the operational command structures of Terrorist Inc, that Al-Qaedais not connected to Pakistani government-linked terrorists operating in India?As Mukherjee said in his speech at the Carnegie Endowment, the Bombay blastswere the original act of "mass terrorism" and similar to 9/11 in theirsynchronized character and targeting of state and economic symbols. There ismuch talk of US-Pakistan joint operations against Al-Qaeda, but none against theterrorists killing in Kashmir.

But Mukherjee isn’t merely scoring points. He and others in Delhi know thatIndia needs American inputs in key areas for sustaining seven percent growth inthe coming years. The question is how to leverage India’s advantages for moregain. Even though in public the minister stayed scrupulously away from all talkof arms sales, in private he assured the American brass of a level playing fieldas and when a decision is made on the big ticket items. He knows the Americandefence contractors have smelt the potential Indian market and are breathingdown the Bush Administration’s neck to force India open with a combination ofstrategic incentives and pressure tactics. They are equally ready to weigh infor India on Capitol Hill where objections might be raised against providingcivilian nuclear technology to India and against the Iran-India gas pipeline,thanks to the Israeli lobby.

Who wins the contract for the multirole combat aircraft worth billions is notclear at this stage despite Rumsfeld’s personal lobbying efforts. It seemsMukherjee played coy on the topic and refused to show even a hint of intent.What he made clear was that he will give his nod depending on the "level" oftechnology transfer and the "quantum" of joint production. He said the sameto a packed meeting of CEOs of defence companies and their top lobbyists organisedby the US-India Business Council. The best way to build trust, he said, was forthe US companies to shift some manufacturing to India, not just to feed theIndian and US markets but also third countries. It will help remove doubts inthe Indian establishment about reliability of the US as a partner.