This paper traces the tortuous path of the final coming out of India from the nuclear isolation it had been relegated to, with the signing of the legacy-building Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement also known as the Indo-US Nuclear deal, the bilateral accord on civil nuclear cooperation between the United States and the Republic of India. The framework for the deal was a July 18, 2005 Joint statement by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the US President George W. Bush culminating three long years later on October 10, 2008, when the 123 Agreement which defines the terms and conditions of bilateral civil nuclear cooperation between India and the United States was finally operationalised, going through several complicated stages including amendment of the US domestic law, a civil military nuclear separation plan in India, vehement opposition to the deal in India, an India-specific IAEA safeguards agreement and the grant of exemption for India by the NSG. The deal places under permanent safeguards, those nuclear facilities that India identifies as “civil” and permits broad civil nuclear cooperation, the only known country with nuclear weapons which is not a party to the NPT to be able to do so. The paper brings out the historical import of the deal for it implicitly recognizes India's “defacto”nuclear status formally recognizing India's strong non-proliferation record, also dehyphenating India from Pakistan and at the same time promising to cater to India's burgeoning energy needs.
