A Visionary's Legacy

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been one of India’s most visionary leaders and a humble human being whose contributions to India’s developmental journey and strategic reorientation are immense. His death is a profound loss for India, but he will be remembered as one of the country’s best economists and a statesman with unrivaled drive. Among his many accomplishments, he is especially acclaimed for his role in guiding India through a difficult economic phase in 1991. His role was instrumental in carrying out the structural adjustment program as he adopted the LPG (Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization) model, which put the country on a high economic recovery path.

His other landmark initiatives are the Right to Information Act 2005, the Right to Education Act 2009, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005. However, his most notable legacy is the India-US Civil Nuclear Deal, a historic agreement that changed India's global stature and relationship with the United States.

The Context of the Civil Nuclear Deal

Manmohan Singh’s pursuit of the Civil Nuclear Deal with the United States was a testament to his strategic vision and determination. At that time, the agreement faced strong external pressure and domestic resistance. Some of India's strategic adversaries, like China, tried its best to scuttle this landmark deal between the two countries. It strategically tried to use left parties in India to scuttle this initiative. Within his own coalition government, he also faced stiff opposition as the Left withdrew support for his government.

Furthermore, many members of his own Congress party disagreed with his notion of pursuing stronger strategic engagement with the United States by pursuing this agreement. Singh, on the other hand, remained steadfast and devoted, expressing his readiness and willingness to leave if his position on this matter was not supported. He was aware of the broader strategic rationale and long-term benefits of the civil nuclear agreement with the United States. His perseverance ensured that the deal was signed, dramatically changing the trajectory of India-US ties and India’s role in the region.

The Skeptics and the Broader Perspective

Critics of the Civil Nuclear Deal have often alleged that it failed to yield any substantive outcomes, as no American companies have come to setup nuclear reactors in India. This concern originates mostly from the Civil Nuclear Liability Act of 2010, which discouraged American corporations from investing in India's civil nuclear program. However, such criticisms fail to recognize the agreement's broader geostrategic significance.

The Civil Nuclear Deal was not merely about constructing reactors; it was about legitimizing India’s nuclear program, changing India’s global image, building trust, sending strategic messages, and laying the groundwork for deeper and more comprehensive strategic cooperation between India and the United States.

By entering into this agreement, the United States effectively recognized and legitimized India’s nuclear program. This was a monumental achievement for India, as it altered the global narrative surrounding its nuclear capabilities and established it as a responsible nuclear power. Before this nuclear agreement was signed, nuclear non-proliferation was always on the US agenda in its engagement with India.

The US had used nuclear non-proliferation as a strategic tool to put pressure on India in the past and was limiting this partnership. The signing of the civil nuclear deal changed this narrative and removed one of the significant irritants in the India-US relationship. Moreover, prior to the deal, India was frequently considered as a “nuclear apartheid state” or a “nuclear pariah” and faced nuclear isolation. The United States, in particular, was a strong critic of India’s nuclear program, repeatedly denouncing it in official statements. The signing of the Civil Nuclear Agreement changed all that and represented a paradigm shift in the India-US ties.

De-hyphenation of India-Pakistan ties

Another critical aspect of the Civil Nuclear Deal was its role in dehyphenating India-Pakistan relations. Prior to this agreement, the US always hyphenated India and Pakistan. If there was any visit by some important US dignitary to India, it was always followed by a visit to Pakistan to balance this relationship between the two countries. In some cases, Pakistan was compensated with strategic benefits by the US to offset its engagement with India, and vice versa.

India and Pakistan were treated as an integrated unit as part of its South Asian strategy. By executing a civil nuclear deal with India and not with Pakistan, the US began to treat the two countries independently of each other and removed India from the narrow geopolitical framework of the South Asia region and began to treat it as part of its strategy under the Asia Pacific framework, which is currently referred as the Indo-Pacific. This was a positive step for the strengthening of this relationship. It underlined the US’s awareness of India’s unique geopolitical position and strategic potential in the region.

Strengthening Strategic Trust

This agreement also played a pivotal role in enhancing trust between India and the US. Relations between the two countries had deteriorated significantly since the United States imposed sanctions on India following the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998. To a large extent, the signing of this civil nuclear deal contributed to overcoming this trust deficit. It represented the United States' determination to move beyond past grievances and engage with India constructively and on equal terms. This sense of trust cleared the way for further cooperation in military, security, space, technology, and other critical sectors.

Membership in Global Export Control Regimes

One of the most tangible outcomes of the Civil Nuclear Deal was India’s inclusion in global export control regimes such as the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Australia Group, and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). These memberships were significant milestones because they enabled India to engage in high-tech trade and collaborate on critical defense technologies and global security issues. Additionally, this civil nuclear deal opened the window and facilitated civil nuclear agreements with other countries, including Australia, with whom India inked a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 2014.

A Strategic Rationale for the Indo-Pacific

The Civil Nuclear Deal was underpinned by a broader strategic rationale. President George W. Bush saw India as a potential counterbalance to China in the Asia-Pacific region now referred to as the Indo-Pacific region. It was in 2001 when Bush declared China as a “strategic competitor,” and the signing of this deal was part of that larger geostrategic vision to lay down the comprehensive framework to deal with the potential challenges posed by China. The signing of this deal underlined the Bush administration’s balance of power approach to deal with India. The US strengthened ties with India through this agreement, signaling its support for India to play a more consequential role in regional security and stability.

This strategic objective has come to fruition in recent years, with India and the United States forming a “comprehensive global strategic partnership” marked by robust Indo-Pacific defense and security cooperation. It is because of the foundation laid down by this deal that today India and the US have completed all their foundational defense agreements, paving the way for greater strategic engagement between the two countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Furthermore, the strategic trust developed by this deal has fostered significant advancements in strategic technological collaboration and defense industrial cooperation, further enhancing the overall relationship between the two countries.

The Long-Term Legacy

While critics may continue to focus on the lack of American-built nuclear reactors in India, the true legacy of the civil nuclear deal lies in its broader geostrategic and diplomatic implications. It constituted a watershed moment in India-US ties, transforming the relationship from one of estrangement to engagement. It had a significant impact on India’s global image, legitimized it’s nuclear program, send a geostrategic massage, and laid the foundation for a greater strategic cooperation with the US and its allies.

In conclusion, the civil nuclear deal was a visionary and strategic achievement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It demonstrated his determination, strategic foresight, and commitment to pursuing India’s national security interests. This strategic deal not only changed India’s relationship with the United States, but it also altered its role on the world stage. As we look on his legacy, the civil nuclear deal stands out as testimony to his leadership and unshakable commitment to India’s broader national security objectives.

Imran Khurshid, Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Kashmir, specializes in Indo-Pacific studies and South Asian security issues.