Sulking Delhi won’t pardon Australia

Nevertheless, Fischer’s day-long programme had so much leisure time built into it, that he could even take time off this afternoon for a visit to the Rail Museum.

Even as the international community seems to be veering around to at least informally accepting India as a nuclear weapons power, Fischer’s visit brought back here vivid memories of “personally derogatory remarks” at the hands of Australian ministers, especially Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, after New Delhi went nuclear.

Indeed, Fischer was one of those who had then keptvery quiet, which is the only reason why New Delhi pointedly granted him a visa to come to India. In the pre-Pokharan era too, Fischer was one of those who believed India and Australia should have closer ties.

After the prime minister’s statement at the United Nations, announcing that India would not stand in the way of the CTBT entering into force, Canberra had been pressing for any visit to take place. India is a major consumer of Australian coal and wool and Canberra did not want the economic relationship, in a year of global recession, to suffer at the hands of politics.

For four months, New Delhi let Canberra cool its heels. Word had been put out after the tests that India was willing to look for alternative sources of coal. As it happened, wool imports fell below previous purchases.

Even during today’s meeting with Jaswant Singh, Fischer is said to have indirectly acknowledged New Delhi’s compulsions to test the nuclear bomb last May. He implied, sources said, that the geographical distancebetween Canberra and New Delhi, which include a couple of intervening oceans, prevented Australia from adequately understanding India’s regional compulsions.

Jaswant Singh, on his part, did “not offer any explanation” for India’s decision to go nuclear, only painted a picture of the current state of dialogue with India’s nuclear compatriots.

According to an Australian High Commission press release, the Fischer visit “signalled Australia’s commitment to the further development of a strong and broad-based bilateral relationship.” The fact remains that New Delhi continues to feel that ties should be primarily limited to the economic factor.