April 13, 2004 ☼ Foreign Affairs

Amidst all the hoopla surrounding India’s reaction to Pakistan’s appointment as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, Brahma Chellaney draws attention to one failing of the Vajpayee government’s engagement with America.

Making Pakistan a major ally outside the Nato framework is proof that the US wants to push its strategic interests in India and Pakistan without having to choose one over the other. For its part, Indian foreign policy has not only failed to persuade the US to pick India over Pakistan, but it has also left an impression that Washington need not make such a choice in order to strategically engage India. [HT]

Failing to persuade the US the choose India over Pakistan is not entirely a failing of the Vajpayee government; it is a monumental blunder committed by the Bush administration. But allowing the United States to make such a choice implies that India allowed itself to be taken for granted. That is a failure of the Vajpayee government.

However, Chellaney’s dim view of the India’s participation in the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative is gratuitous. How can India hope to shape the anti-proliferation agenda to protect its interests if it does not participate in a major international initiative? Unlike what Chellaney advocates, India should not disengage and sulk, but engage and influence the PSI’s agenda.

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