Engaging India: Diplomacy, Democracy, and the Bomb

By Strobe Talbott

Book Overview

On May 11, 1998, three nuclear devices detonated under the Thar Desert in India shook the surrounding villages--and the rest of the world. The immediate effect was to plunge U.S.-India relations, already vexed by decades of tension and estrangement, into a new crisis. The situation deteriorated further when Pakistan responded in kind two weeks later, testing a nuclear weapon for the first time. Engaging India is the firsthand story of the diplomacy conducted between the United States and the two South Asian neighbors after the nuclear tests. In this book, the American point man for the dialogue takes us behind the scenes of one of the most suspenseful and consequential diplomatic dramas of our time, reconstructing what happened--and why--with narrative verve, rich human detail, and penetrating analysis. From June 1998 to September 2000, in what was the most extensive dialogue ever between the United States and India, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh met fourteen times in seven countries on three continents. They discussed both the immediate items on the security and nonproliferation agenda, as well as their wider visions for the U.S.-India relationship and the potential for economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries. As the relationship improved over the course of the talks, the United States was to able play a role in averting the possibility of nuclear war over the contested territory of Kashmir in the summer of 1999--the specifics of which are included for the first time in this book, told in way only a protagonist can. The Talbott-Singh diplomacy laid the groundwork for the transformational visit of President Bill Clinton to India in March 2000 and helped end fifty years of estrangement between the world's two largest democracies. As pursuit of Islamic militants continues across South Asia, the increased cooperation established by Talbott and Singh will be an invaluable

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815783000
• ISBN13: 9780815783008
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A Factual Thriller

It is a wonderful narration of "behind the scenes" diplomacy between India and US, after the Pokran bomb blast. Readers would get to know how the long impasse between India and US came to an end. Author's recollection of various Indian leader's viewpoint on this nuclear pursuit is very interesting. If the author's view on pakistan is any indication of the current US govt, its very puzzling how pakistan ended up as an ally of US in fighting terrorism. All in all, the book is a very good read for anyone who wants to know about India's nuclear dreams/pursuits and American views on the same.

Strobe and Jaswant's Excellent Adventure

Strobe Talbot's memoir begins in 1998 when the Vajpayee Government in India shocked the world by conducting the Pokran II nuclear tests. The State Department - Talbot's employer - learned about the tests from CNN, and the CIA learned about them from the State Department. (The CIA used to know things.) The foreign service officer in charge of the State Department's bureau of intelligence and research wryly remarked, " It looks like we're all having a bad government day." Talbot was the Clinton's Administration's resident expert on Russian-affairs, but after the tests (Pakistan followed with nuclear tests two weeks later), he was immediately reassigned as the point person and crisis manager for South Asia. His assignment was to persuade India to limit the development and deployment of their nuclear weapons; this included the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Talbot and his Indian counterpart Jaswant Singh met fourteen times over the last two and half years of the Clinton administration. This extended dialog between Talbot and Singh ended with Talbot's failure to persuade India to accept any restraints on its nuclear weapons program - which came as no surprise to either Talbot or Singh. The dialog -the engagement of India - brought many unintended benefits. Treaties such as the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the (CTBT) are, from an Indian perspective, discriminatory and condescending against everyone except the original five nuclear powers. The nuclear option was seen by the Vajpayee Government, and especially by the right-leaning nationalists of the Bharatiya Janata Party, as not only a realistic defense policy, but also a tool for achieving great power status. They never had any intention of signing the CTBT. Talbot, for his part, was dealing with a weak hand because the Republican senators in the US were aslo unwilling to endorse the treaty. What became valuable was the engagement itself in that it altered the direction of US-Indian relations from one of mutual estrangement to one of trust and cooperation. This was illustrated during the 1999 invasion by Pakistan of the Kargil area of Kashmir. As President Clinton was holding talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan to halt the invasion, he was at the same time consulting Vajpayee and seeking his advice. This so impressed the Indian side that it paved the way for Clinton's historic visit in 2000. One of the fascinating things about this book is the personality of Jaswant Singh. Singh hails from Rajasthan where his intimate experience with Islamic extremism pushed him toward's the BJP's staunch Hindu idealogy. He had presciently warned Talbot that America did not fully appreciate the dangers of radical Islam. And regarding Pakistan, Singh was opposed to the very idea of Pakistan; the partition that took place more than fifty years ago had been a huge mistake. He noted with characteristic flair that, "Kashmir should be understood as an objectifica

A true story with a positive message

Engaging India: Diplomacy, Democracy, And The Bomb by Strobe Talbott (President of the Brookings Institute and the American Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001) is the fascinating true story of diplomatic relations between United States, India, and Pakistan in 1998 and 1999 - a time marked by India's underground testing of nuclear weapons. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh met fourteen times, striving with urgent issues of arms control and nonproliferation as well as visions for a U.S.-India relationship and the possibility of both economic and strategic cooperation between both nations. Even though India and Pakistan disputed the territory of Kashmir in the summer of 199, the conflict did not escalate to war or nuclear conflagration - perhaps due at least in part to the mediating influence of the U.S. A true story with a positive message, Engaging India is a raply engrossing work and a welcome addition to modern world history shelves.

Great book, fast read and an eye opener

Anyone who has any doubts about Pakistan's involvement in world wide terrorism should read this book. This is not some curious author discovering the facts. This is a powerful ex-official in Clinton administration who has seen it all and describes how Pakistan is responsible for helping terrorists. Also it throws light at the behind doors world of diplomacy and how it is played out between India and US. I recommend this book to anyone interested on the subjects of Terrorism, US-India relations, Pakistan, Non-Proliferation and Nuclear bombs.

A fair & honest insight about India as a responsible nation.

The best diplomatic memoir in recent times. Mr Talbott's has given a honest opinion about the Indian political system. This book is beyond the Talbott-Singh dialogue but also about India as a mature nuclear power nation with its leaders having a modern and modest outlook about the world. This includes Indian Politicians belonging to both ruling as well as opposition parties. There are also ominous references to Pakistan being a dangerous place for westerners, whether they are Politicians, diplomats or journalist. This book confirms the fear that "South Asia, in particular Pakistan is the most dangerous place on Earth"