Its Vassal Kings S M Menon Apart from seeking a special dispensation for India within the CTBT regime, the new, emerging nuclear policy is unclear and the terms of the engagement remain unstated. It begins to seem likely that the, BJP-led government would be willing to settle for a cosmetic, face- saving concession from the lords of the global nuclear imperium, rather than a substantive one, BEYOND fatuous phraseology, the three high-level diplomatic encounters between India and the US have made little progress towards composing tensions that erupted with the nuclear tests in May. The demands placed on India have remained inflexible: accede unconditionally to the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) regime; retrace all steps that have been taken towards militarisation of the nuclearoption; and participate in a positive sense in negotiations at Geneva towards a fissile material cutoff. This triad of demands, situated in the global dimension, have been accompanied by another clutch anchored in the neighbourhood context that threatening troop movements on the border with Pakistan be halted, confidence- building measures be initiated, and talks begun on all issues that divide the two countries, including Kashmir.
