The July 18 nuclear deal between India and US represents an astonishing reversal of American proliferation policies towards India.

After abandoning its age-old insistence on New Delhi capping or reversing its nuclear weapons programme, Washington, all of a sudden, has expressed its willingness for a nuclear handshake with a country whose growing strategic importance it is keen on harnessing.

To some extent, the Indo-US relationship can prove to be a counterweight to Pakistan and China in the years to come.

As New Delhi adds a new device to its military muscle, its smaller neighbours watch with a high degree of nervousness.