187. Letter From the Indian Chargé d’Affaires in the United States (Gokhale) to President Carter1
I have the honour to reproduce below the text of a letter, dated June 6, 1980, addressed to you by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi:—
“Excellency,
“I thank you for your kind letter of May 2, 1980.2
“Although the crisis in our region continues to be a matter of serious concern to us, in this letter I should like to share my views with you on our nuclear cooperation.
“I can assure you that we value the benefits that we have derived from the cooperation agreement of 1963. The agreement was a fine example of cooperation between our two countries and we should like to see it operate smoothly in the future. Hence I welcome your recent action on the pending shipments for fuel and components for Tarapur. Now that your Regulatory body has left it to you to decide on all the pending applications, I hope that all these shipments can be made as soon as possible.
“I do fully understand the constraints under which you have to operate. It is these conditions in the United States which are causing me concern about the future of our continued cooperation in the nuclear field. Both our countries are democracies and have to work within similar limitations. Over the past few years, delays in the supplies of fuel and essential components and spares for Tarapur seem to have become institutionalised, and uncertainties a permanent feature. It is becoming increasingly difficult to convince our people that delays do not constitute a form of denial, particularly since these delays have resulted in the uneconomic operations of our fuel fabrication facility in Hyderabad and adversely affected the operations of the Tarapur station. It is even more difficult to convince our Parliament that we [Page 488] should indefinitely live with a situation in which fuel shipments for Tarapur are considered on a case by case basis, involving on every separate occasion a personal decision at the highest level in the United States—a decision which, as you have pointed out, is fraught with some political risk as it may be over-ruled by Congress. Our people cannot understand why the existing inter-Governmental agreement of 1963, which met all statutory and constitutional requirements before it came into force should in effect be reviewed by the Regulatory, Executive and Legislative branches in the United States on every single occasion an application is made for fuel or certain components supplies. Also, we have not yet received a response to our communications to implement the provision in the 1963 agreement relating to joint determination of the safeguardability of the reprocessing plant at Tarapur.
“Over the years, our stand has been consistent and firm in favour of utilising atomic energy solely for peaceful purposes. We have been and we remain totally opposed to nuclear weapons and we have been strongly advocating and supporting steps towards universal nuclear disarmament. This policy has required considerable restraint on our part. One of our neighbours has acquired a nuclear arsenal over the years and is now perfecting and extending the scope of its delivery system. While noting potential threats to our security from any direction, we have stood by our policy of not acquiring nuclear weapons and have managed to obtain a general consensus on these issues.
“I hope that we shall both be able to keep the Tarapur question in its bilateral perspective keeping in view the larger overall relationship and shared interests between our two countries. We should be glad to continue the ongoing dialogue on maintaining our cooperation on Tarapur within the framework of the mutual obligations assumed by our two Governments under the 1963 agreement.
“I appreciate the understanding shown by the State Department in briefing the press regarding our agreement on arms with the Soviet Union.3 This was the culmination of negotiations started much earlier at the time of the previous Government.
[Page 489]“I shall write again on other matters of mutual concern to our Governments.
“I was delighted to meet Mrs. Lillian Carter in Belgrade.4 Neither years nor distance has diminished her love for India or the affection of a large number of Indian people for her. What a charming and dedicated family you have.
“With warm regards,
Yours sincerely
Sd/—Indira Gandhi”
With the assurances of my highest esteem.
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Country File, Box 28, India: 7/80–1/81. No classification marking. Carter initialed at the top of the letter. Brzezinski sent the letter to Carter under a June 11 covering memorandum, which Carter also initialed. Brzezinski noted that Gandhi’s letter “was timed to reach here before the Congressional hearings of June 11. In this regard it makes a strong statement of India’s dedication to peaceful nuclear activities without, of course, eschewing nuclear explosions. At the end of the letter Mrs. Gandhi appreciates the restraint with which we handled the Indo-Soviet arms deal. We understand that she added this paragraph herself.” (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Global Issues, Oplinger/Bloomfield Subject File, Box 45, Proliferation: India: 6–7/80)↩
- See Document 182.↩
- Telegram 141390 to multiple posts, May 29, relayed excerpts from the Department of State’s May 29 press briefing, given by spokesman Thomas Reston. When Reston was asked to comment on the Indo-Soviet arms deal, he responded “that the Soviets had been the major arms supplier over a number of years, with the Indians. Beyond that, I really don’t have anything that I can offer you at the moment.” Reston also offered to furnish answers to questions on the effect of the arms deal on the shipments of nuclear fuel to India and on the U.S. position regarding reports of the Soviet supply of nuclear reactor technology to India. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800264–0850)↩
- Telegram 9390 from New Delhi, May 9, quoted a May 9 article on the front page of the Times of India, which reported on Lillian Carter’s meeting with Gandhi in Belgrade on the occasion of Tito’s funeral. According to the article, “President Carter’s mother, Mrs. Lillian Carter, met the Prime Minister at her hotel suite and told her she could not ever forget India. Mrs. Gandhi said everyone who had known Mrs. Carter held her in high respect and affection.” (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800229–0872)↩
- Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩