INDIA OPTS OUT

Yesterday another of Mr Bush's pet projects ran into trouble when the Indian government decided that it could not proceed with the bilateral nuclear deal with the US that was promoted as creating a new strategic alliance. The fault is not wholly Mr Bush's because it stems from the Indian inability to carry the Communists in the government with its proposals for this nuclear cooperation. The Indian prime minsiter, Manmohan Singh, was faced with having to call an early election because of the Communist defection or putting the deal with Washington on hold; he chose the latter, indicating that he considers his domestic reform policies more important than his country's nuclear status. Under the agreement reached last year India would have been able to import US nuclear fuel and technology for the first time in 30 years. In return India would have had to open some of its nuclear facilities to internationmal inspection.

But for Mr Singh's Communist partners such an arrangement would have made India subservient to US strategic interests. There were always questionable aspects of this India-US civil nuclear agreement. But Mr Bush pushed it hard. Now it probably cannot be recovered before Mr Bush's term of office is over.