KEY POINTS:
In 1974, when India conducted its first atomic test, the global powers then gave India a choice - follow its nuclear ambition for civil use, or build its nuclear arsenal for national security. Not both!
But with the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group's waiver of the ban, India can now chase its nuclear ambitions, if the US Congress approves. And it can continue to build its nuclear arsenal. The Indian Prime Minister described the waiver as the end of the technology denial regime and a way for India to be part of the nuclear mainstream.
The US Congress' approval will be another task to pull off. But it was never an easy deal.
It has taken over three years to shape. And two of the most influential world leaders, US President George W. Bush and India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, put their political careers at stake for the deal.
In the meantime, New Zealand's Indian community is delighted to see the Government's support for the deal, according to Veer Khar, general secretary of New Zealand Indian Central Association. The association had earlier shown its displeasure at various public gatherings when the Government signalled it would block the waiver proposal.
But this is not about proliferation or weapons of mass destruction only. It is is also about vested interests.
The nuclear deal is about power games. As the New York Times puts it, "the deal could be a potential balancing power to a rising China". That's what it is, which explains the highest level of lobbying during the three days of negotiations at the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting in Vienna.
And it underpins the arrival of India as an economic powerhouse. China was against it as it wished to continue to support Pakistan.
But what was New Zealand doing there? This little nation was acting in "good faith" as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India, Rupert Holborow, told an Indian newspaper.
"Countries are always seeking to balance several issues and relationships," he said, explaining New Zealand's deviation from its non-proliferation stand.
No matter how small and remote New Zealand as a nation is, we have stood up for what we believed in, and non-proliferation has been our belief since 1987 when the David Lange Government passed the Disarmament and Arms Control Act that gave us our current nuclear-free status.
And our Governor-General, Anand Satyanand, the first person of Indian origin to occupy this highest official position, is in India and must be relieved to see New Zealand's support for the waiver.
But why are we so worried about India's nuclear capabilities? Because we don't understand the country!
Has India invaded any country we would care to remember? Not that I can recall.
Of course, New Zealand's concerns for a level-playing field are understandable. After all, India is not part of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Nor has it signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty - both favoured by New Zealand. Disarmament and Arms Control Minister Phil Goff acknowledged, however, that India had maintained a non-proliferation track record despite not being part of the NPT.
Of the eight declared nuclear nations in the world, India and Pakistan have the least estimated number of warheads, according to the Arms Control Association figures in 2004. Russia, the US and China top that list. Even Britain and Israel are reported to have more warheads.
Most importantly, the US-India nuclear deal is for civil use, not military. India has agreed to separate its military nuclear plants from its civil plants.
This large nation of 1.1 billion people has growing energy needs which can be met in an environmentally friendly manner with nuclear power.
Besides, New Zealand's approval for the waiver has come on the back of a confirmation by India to maintain a voluntary moratorium on tests.
India will help limit the spread of enrichment and reprocessing. It has also confirmed that it will sign the additional protocol about its civil nuclear facilities.
Basically New Zealand and its allies have had their way, with India dealing with the most serious concerns to a "significant degree", as Mr Goff confirms. And if that's not enough, the Nuclear Suppliers Group retains the option to reconsider its decision if India conducts a nuclear test.
With forthcoming elections, it is no surprise that New Zealand does not wish to move too much away from its popular nuclear-free stand.
It has tried to ensure that conditions are in place for the waiver, despite heavy lobbying by the US Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice during her recent Auckland visit.
In effect, New Zealand and the two other holdouts (Ireland and Austria) have supported the waiver for "a net positive benefit for non-proliferation", as Mr Goff says.
Indeed, the waiver has now brought India's civil nuclear industry under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. Which is a good thing.
* Vaib Gangan is managing editor of Auckland-based Global Indian magazine. He can be contacted at vgangan@theglobalindian.co.nz
