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Friday, May 22, 1998

	Time to cool down The nation has savoured its nuclear triumph long enough. Now the time has come to use it wisely. If the first step towards doing this is to moderate the chest-thumping and come down to earth, the next one is to exploit this demonstration of India's nuclear capability to create stability in the region, rather than instability. This, in sum, was the subtext of Prime Minister Vajpayee's statements when he visited Pokharan on Wednesday.		Get on with it The government has done its homework on what economic fallout to expect from economic sanctions. It is acknowledged that they will have some adverse economic impact. But the assessment is that India can live with them. It is also implicitly recognised that the extent of this impact will be determined as much by the government's economic policies and management as by its diplomatic efforts.
	No stranger in the night It took the death of an 82-year-old who had been languishing with heart trouble for a year to show the world how boring it has become. From stars who parade motherhood as a fashion statement and dangle countries as causes, Frank Sinatra's death reminded us of a time when stars justified their stratospheric status.		Fallacy of the Hindu bomb Senator Akram Zaki, chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, and a host of others in Pakistan have with stunning simplicity seen the installation of the BJP government in New Delhi as the confirmation of a "Hindu India". From this their logic takes them to the conclusion that the bomb India now possesses is a Hindu bomb which requires an adequate "Islamic" response.

Detonations don't make deterrence
It has been articulated that the nuclear tests at Pokharan have given the country nuclear deterrence. Were this that simple, then even the 1974 test would have classified India as a nuclear weapon power. But it was not so at that time and is not entirely accurate today also.

Who's afraid of Ganesh Naik?
When Chhagan Bhujbal walked out of the Shiv Sena with 22 legislators, Bal Thackeray's message to his cadre was very clear: revenge. Seven years later, when Ganesh Naik -- his own backroom boy till recently -- has done everything to challenge his authority in both government and the party, the best Thackeray has done is to suffer him in silence.