Radioactive Politics

It took Singh nearly two years to disabuse them of their fears, which he eventually managed by addressing all their technical concerns through tough negotiations with the United States. Yet just when he succeeded this summer, the opportunistic Indian right and the Stalinist left dramatically raised the ante, with the communists threatening to bring down the government. Sensing weakness, many in Singh's own party began to maneuver to replace him as prime minister.

Singh was forced to choose between his job and the deal with Bush. The political jockeying in New Delhi frustrated India's supporters in Washington and left them wondering whether India was truly ready for the big time.

The most remarkable thing about this story is not that India suffered self-doubt before grabbing a deal that is so patently in its favor. The real shocker is that Singh, widely seen as one of India's weakest prime ministers, came so close to succeeding in radically reorienting India's world view.

In a country where it has been a political taboo for decades to talk about good relations with the United States, Singh has put the prospect of a strategic partnership at the top of the national agenda.

And he now seems set to prevail. After stepping back to reposition himself, Singh now seems to have stared down the left and won some space to revive the agreement. After Singh implied he might intervene in the communists' West Bengal power base (where communist cadres had attacked peaceful protesters), the left has agreed to let Singh begin talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency--the next step toward implementing the deal.  

        With the Congress Party now rallying behind him, Singh has reversed his fortunes and might well go down in India's history as the man who revolutionized both its economic and foreign policies. In the early 1990s, he initiated a root-and-branch overhaul of India's moribund economy. He is now within striking distance of transforming India's relationship with the United States and the West as well.

Mohan is a professor of South Asian studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and a columnist for The Indian Express.

© 2007