Nuclear proliferation to Iran: Affaire de Dr. Y. S. R. Prasad
Indian official reaction to U.S. sanctions: 'Ulta Chorr Kotwal ko dantay! ('A Thief rebukes the Police inspector!')
Stop Press: See photographs below of New York celebrations of 400th Anniversary of Guru Granth Sahib where Indian Consul General turned tail and ran
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - There can be no better illumination of the popular South Asian proverb, 'Ulta Chor Kotwal ko dantaay' (translation: 'A thief rebukes the investigating Police Inspector') than a report, headlined, "Prove our scientists had Nuclear-links: India to US," which was planted in India's leading English language newspaper, Times of India, yesterday, in which the writer has the chutzpah of denying Indian nuclear proliferation to Iran.By a strange coincidence this column, Khalistan Calling, has been highlighting India's nuclear and hi-tech military proliferation to Iran for quite some time. Please read our column dated February 11, 2004, headlined, "Indian nuclear scientist Dr. Y. S. R. Prasad deeply involved in underground nuclear supply train to Iran," by clicking at: /home/khalistancalling/2004/february11.aspx and our recent column dated October 06, 2004, headlined, "Nuclear proliferation to Iran. Who is lying? The Indian government spokesman or Dr. Y. S. R. Prasad,' at: /home/khalistancalling/2004/october06.aspx.
According to a New Delhi datelined report, planted by one Indrani Bagchi, in yesterday's Times of India, that country's leading English language newspaper, (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-897532,curpg-1.cms) the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, (MEA) 'in a strongly worderd statement' has said that it was now for the United States to prove that the two (sanctioned) Indian scientists, C Surendra and Y. S. R. Prasad, had any links with Iran's nuclear programme and that, " the burden of action is on the US as we have already pointed out to them that the decision in regard to the two entities is based on faulty evidence and must be revoked." The MEA statement further said that, "there was no demand by the US for evidence regarding the scientists, and India was 'unaware' of the (US) plans to impose sanctions on three other entities".
Bagchi's Times of India report, goes on to say that, "This issue has added a huge damper on India-US relations, as both sides trade charges on who should provide the 'proof'. In pushing for a hi-tech relationship with the US, India has tom-tomed its 'impeccable' record in sealing off illegal technology transfers, using this as reason to resist the export control overhaul that the US wants." Says Bagchi, " US sources averred that while the Indian government institutions might be above reproach, India did not have any credible way of 'policing' its scientific fraternity, or their 'freelance' activities, if any."
Isn't that the truth? India may not have been caught exporting centerfuge equipment or enriched Uranium but it has no control whatsoever, as we all know, on scores of nuclear scientist/ coolies who have been renting out their 'nuclear expertise' to the highest bidder abroad. Nuclear technicians/ 'scientists' like SK Bhasin, Dr. R Chidambaram, Anil Kakoddkar, KS Parthasarathy, S Rajagopal, Prof. Rama Rao, A Sanat Kumar, G. R. Srinivasan, Dr. M. R Srinivasan, SP Sukhatme and Dr Y. S. R. Prasad come to mind. All one has to do is to follow their money trail or their real estate transanctions abroad to find out where they are selling their socalled 'nuclear expertise'.
According to our sources in India, the Iranian travels of the last one listed above, Dr. Y. S. R. Prasad, a retired Chairman & Managing Director (from August 1997 to April 30, 2000) of the huge Nuclear Corporation of India, Mumbai are interesting. Following his retirement in 2000, Dr. Prasad was given a 'wink and a nod' by BJP's Vajpayee government (on the recommendation of the then Indian Foreign minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, who like Dr. Prasad hails from the state of Bihar) to accept an assignment as advisor to various Iranian nuclear projects. From the Indian point of view, a great deal of credit goes to Dr. Prasad for his covert activities in the nuclear field in Iran as they resulted in the signing of a 'strategic' agreement, in the year 2003, between oil-hungry India and isolated Iran. Under this agreement subsidized oil from Iran and covert transfer of Israeli military hi-tech equipment (which India imports from that country) formed the bedrock of the relationship of India and Iran.
Both U.S. and Israel have repeatedly railed against the above mentioned Indian covert nuclear/military activity, demanding details, and warning India against going ahead with its ties with Iran. Indrani Bagchi confirms in his Times of India report that this is one of the enduring irritants (as it should be) in the US-India dialogue and concludes his report by lamenting that, "the nuclear implications just won't go away."
Some readers may have read that additional U.S. sanctions are about to be imposed on India, in the Washington Times expose` published two days ago, on October 22, 2004, (http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20041021-113330-3749r.htm) by that newspaper's star reporter, Bill Gertz, who is known for his many inside connections with US Administrations. Bill Gertz wrote in the above mentioned Washington Times article that, " the Bush administration has imposed sanctions on two Indian scientists for selling nuclear technology to Iran and additional arms-related sanctions have been approved and could be imposed on India in the near future in response to other Indian transfers of weapons-related goods to Iran. The additional sanctions were slated to be discussed in New Delhi during meetings this week between senior Indian leaders and Ms. Christina Rocca, US assistant secretary of state for South Asia. Miss Rocca is in India as part of a program known as 'Next Steps in Strategic Partnership'. The talks are focused on ways of loosening controls on the transfer of U.S. high-technology goods (civilian nuclear and space technology, high-technology trade and missile defense) to India, which have been restricted because of India's nuclear arms program and its 1998 underground nuclear tests."
We Sikhs living under the threat of a nuclear Armageddon, seek a nuclear/ missile free South Asia as our Punjab Homeland is located smack in the middle of two warring nuclear-armed states, India and Pakistan, in South Asia. As such, we fully support any U.S. sanctions, or threat of sanctions, which would help calm or scare the Indian leaders to shed their nuclear delusions and stop their nuclear proliferation activities to Iran, Brazil and Taiwan.
It is a matter of record that way back in January 2002 we tried to desist the Indian leadership from the nuclear proliferation path that they had taken with our column headlined "Indian leaders need Nuclear tutorial - World's renowned non-proliferation activist calls Indian leaders 'delusional with large egos and little minds.' (/home/khalistancalling/2002/january16.aspx)
In a later column, dated May 12, 2004, we saluted U.S. efforts to halt the South Asian nuclear madness. It was headlined, "Sikhs appreciate U.S. stand that it does NOT accept India & Pakistan as nuclear-weapons states," (/home/khalistancalling/2004/may12.aspx) In that column we had written that, "The 25 Million strong Sikh nation (3 million free in the diaspora & 22 million captive in India) unanimously endorses and welcomes last week's New York statement of US Assistant Secretary of State for Non-Proliferation, John Wolf, that although the United States has recently taken steps to strengthen relations with both India and Pakistan to enhance its regional goals, these moves should not be taken to suggest that Washington has 'accepted' the status of either country as a nuclear weapons state under the Non-Proliferation Treaty."
*We Sikhs salute the United States on its current noble stand on nuclear proliferation and fully support all efforts by the U.S. Administration to curb the 'freelance' activities of India's scientific fraternity ('Have Atom will travel') which has been proliferating nuclear weapons technology to countries like Iran, Brazil and Taiwan.
The 25 million strong Sikh nation supports any move - threat or imposition of U.S. sanctions is one - that will lead dirt-poor South Asia in general, and India in particular, towards the goal of a nuclear/missile free zone on the subcontinent.