'US support important to end n-apartheid'

Q&A: Pranab Mukherjee

Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee talks to NISTULA HEBBAR about international relations and the folly of storing diaries in damp basements

There are a lot of misconceptions with regard to the Indo-US civil nuclear co-operation deal. What are our gains and losses from the deal, and where do the concerns of the Opposition and the scientific community stem from?

Given that we are currently dealing with a technology denial regime. The simple gain that we get from the deal is access to nuclear technology and an end to India's nuclear isolation. Besides, the deal is also important for our energy requirements. US laws are very clear that nuclear technology transfer to countries with strategic programmes outside the NPT cannot take place. Therefore, to end the apartheid as far as nuclear energy is concerned, US support is important. When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went to the US in July 2005, it was to negotiate an exception being made in the US law for India. That is the reason that these negotiations have to take place. The concerns expressed by the Opposition and the scientific community are also the concerns that the Indian government has. We want the right to reprocess fuel because the experience of spent fuel lying in the Tarapur plant is before us. We also want assured fuel supply for our nuclear plants while protecting our strategic interests. I have already articulated this and we stand by it.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have both said that India was not interested in being a big power in its neighbourhood, rather it wanted to be a moral force. In this light, how do you view the National Security Advisor's statement in Chennai on Sri Lanka?

When we are prepared to co-operate with Sri Lanka, why is there talk of going to others for help. Sri Lanka has a problem, and unless that is solved, it has an effect on our shores as well. Their ethnic violence has the capacity to spill over to our borders because of ethnic convergence. What is your (Sri Lanka's) military requirement, you tell us. What we want is that the peace process initiated by Norway, which has been disturbed now because of escalation of violence, continues in some form. The talks process gets disturbed if there is escalation in violence, there needs to be a strategy to curb that.

What about a strategic pact on defence with Sri Lanka that they want?

It is not the question of a strategic pact. Who does Sri Lanka fear as far as its defence from outside forces is concerned? Its problems are internal and we also have a vulnerability as far as that is concerned. Our interest is in a peaceful solution.

Who among our neighbours disturbs you the most?

I have said it many times that we cannot change our neighbours. We have long porous borders with many of our neighbours and what affects them internally has repercussions for us as well. In that sense we have concerns if there is violence and strife in our neighbouring countries.

What about the increasing Talibanisation of Pakistan, how do you view that? Also, what about the anti-terror mechanism?

What we want from the Pakistani President is that he keep to his commitment of January 2004 of not allowing Pakistani territory to be used to launch terror attacks against India. Our information is that terrorists are using Pakistan as a launching pad against India. Terror infrastructure has not been dismantled. When the composite dialogue process is being used to discuss every issue between the two countries, then this should also be addressed. As far as the joint mechanism on terror is concerned, it has been set up, a meeting held, some information has been exchanged, let us give it time, let us give it a chance.

Let us now talk about economic diplomacy. With an imminent slowdown in the US economy and an aggressive Chinese economy, where is India going as far as its economic diplomacy is concerned?

India is an important country as far as the multilateral economic forums are concerned. We are an important negotiator at the WTO, we have marked our presence in the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other fora. As far as competition with China is concerned, I feel there is space for both the countries as far as world's resources and business are concerned. With regard to energy security, we are bidding on several oil block. Sometimes China wins some bids, while we win others.

There is talk that you would make an ideal Presidential candidate, but that you cannot be spared from your various duties as an interlocutor for the government?

This is all in the realm of speculation. Electing the next President is a constitutional process and political parties will decide who they want to put up for the post. Neither I nor anyone else has enlisted our names for the post, whatever has been written is in the nature of media speculation.

Now, on to more personal things. Since you have been an active participant in the political history of independent India, would you be writing your memoirs?

I want to write, but I am in two minds over it. I do write a diary, but unfortunately, I had stored my diaries in the basement of my private residence in Greater Kailash and the dampness got to it. Diaries from the beginning of my career till 1986 got destroyed. I was so upset that for a year I refused to write a diary, till, in 1988, P V Narasimha Rao said that I should continue. This time, however, I have shifted all my books and papers to the second floor. It will take a deluge to harm the books now.

You are also known to be an avid reader. What books have you read lately?

I usually read two or three books at the same time. I like poetry, biographies and books on the 20th century history. Right now, I am reading two Bengali books and two English books together. One Bengali book, by Professor Tapan Roy Chaudhury, is on contemporary Bengali history on the eve of Independence, while the other is by a former East Pakistan minister Ata-ur-Rahman, called 'Auzirate Dui Dashak' or 'Two decades as a minister'. The English books are on the synopsis of the Nuremberg Trials and the Last Days of Hitler by Rupert Trevor.