Greetings from Delhi.
Yesterday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opened the conference, Towards a World Free of Nuclear Weapons, by lighting a lamp (left) and giving a speech (right).
(I tried to convince George Perkovich to have a lamp lighting ceremony at the 2009 Carnegie Nonproliferation Conference, but I don’t think he bought it.)
Singh’s address to the conference, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of a speech by Rajiv Gandhi, emphasizing the need for disarmament and reiterating existing Indian proposals:
These proposals retain the spirit and substance of the Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan. We hope that other states will agree to a dialogue on these proposals, and will join us in committing to nuclear disarmament. That is the critical first step – a commitment, preferably a binding legal commitment through an international instrument, to eliminate nuclear weapons within a time bound framework.
I was almost encouraged until I saw the headline in The Hindu over breakfast — “Can’t Limit Energy Options: PM.”
In fact, these are the headlines from Google News:
Limiting energy options a luxury: PM
The Statesman
N-terrorist a realistic threat, says PM
Economic Times
Nuclear energy the best option
The Hindu (online)
N-deal must for energy needs: Prime Minister
The Times of India
Only VOA headlined the story “Prime Minister Pitches Global Nuclear Disarmament.”
Back to weary cynicism.