What should have been Indian foreign policy's most glorious hour, the impending signature of the nuclear deal with America, has degenerated into a messy street-fight.
In the last fortnight, the level of mistrust between the Manmohan Singh government and the Left parties has grown so wide and so deep, that the possibility of snap elections could be sooner than anyone thinks.
The Left has pulled no punches over its distaste over the nuclear deal, and what it calls the "strategic embrace'' with the US. Left leaders are adamant about the fact that the minute the government takes the next steps towards operationalising the deal, that is a meeting at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, they are going to pull the plug on the Manmohan Singh government.
Clearly, though, it is not only the nuclear deal that so bothers the Left parties in India. At stake is a growing alliance across the board, from the economic and trade relationship to joint action in space.
Then there's the allied show of strength being displayed in early September by the joint, five-nation naval exercises called the "Malabar" off Port Blair (along with Australia, Singapore and Japan), where three US nuclear warships - the USS Nimitz, Enterprise and Kitty Hawk - are going to be playing a pivotal role.
Even if you weren't the Left in India, it would be easy to raise an eyebrow at the speed with which New Delhi is hurtling into America's arms. And that's the nub of the current chasm. India could have done a similar deal with any other country, and the Left would have grunted and rolled over. But the fact that the US, 'the reincarnated evil empire', is doling out the goodies, has drawn the hackles of the Left.
Still, after the storm and thunder of the last fortnight, when the government seemed about to fall anytime, it seems as if a half-space has been created for a possible compromise. In real terms, both positions remain written in stone. But since there are no full stops in politics, the hope that the government may still be saved, or at least allow the inevitable to be postponed by some sleight of hand, has grown.
Tragically, the blinkered Left seems unable to appreciate the nuances of the Indian middle classes over America. While it is true that the engagement with the US has grown stronger and stronger in the last decade or so, not a little of which has been helped along by the increasingly powerful Indian diaspora - India's GDP at $50 billion is said to be the same as the collected income of the Indian-origin community - a range of opinion at home has unequivocally condemned the US invasion of Iraq.
Shades of grey
This ability to sift shades of grey has stood India in good stead these last many years, at least since the Pokharan tests of 1998. Unfortunately, the Left prefers life much more in black and white.
Perhaps Manmohan Singh must be faulted too for allowing the impression to take hold that the US is India's best friend, philosopher and guide rolled into one. Singh has pursued the US relationship with such single-minded determination that other major powers in the world, namely Russia and China, have hardly mattered.
For the second year running, for example, the prime minister did not deign to travel to Kyrgystan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was there, who like India is only an observer to the SCO. So were Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin, both full-time members. Rubbing shoulders with all these dignitaries would have given Manmohan Singh that much more ballast when he dealt with the Americans.
Problem is, while most of India is still making up its mind how far the Americans are to be trusted, the two ends of the political spectrum already have definite world views: There's the Manmohan Singh school of thought, which believes that since the US is the most powerful country in the world, India can only gain by latching on.
And then there are the Left parties.
Clearly, the current disaffection over the nuclear deal has been simmering for so long, that if it wasn't one reason, it would have been another. Manmohan Singh and the Left have argued over the direction and strength of the economic reform, the possibility of playing pension funds on the market and even tribal rights.
More and more, it seems, as if elections are the only way to resolve such divergent views. Left leaders point out that if the Congress returns to power with a majority, they will concede that the people have spoken in favour of better ties with America.
Problem is, no party wants elections. The colossal expenditure apart, there is no saying whether the electorate is going to vote you back into power. India's elections are clearly the biggest gamble in the world.
And so the nation stands today, with the government balancing on the edge of the sword. Parliamentarians of all colours are hoping and praying that all sides will see sense. If not, one thing is certain : In case the government falls on the issue of the Indo-US nuclear deal, the consequent anger at the Left parties is bound to make India a much more right-wing country.
Jyoti Malhotra is the Diplomatic Editor of The Telegraph newspaper, India.
