Without even opening the thread I knew it was Burkha Dutt. There are US journos who come to Times of India and have spawn venom against USA. That too in the blog or opinion column.
Hardly anyone reads it... Anyway. It doesnt matter.
Pakistanis will cheer BBC when it has become vocal against India. The point is BBC is neither Indian nor Pakistani favored. They themselves are a bunch of leftist. So bringing India in the middle is pointless.
Touching on the last paragraph, you did avail the opportunity. You built your arsenal, you became a nuke power. The only thing that let you down is not being judgmental in which path to tread, + your internal turmoil which is your biggest weak link.
You do know that, the sanctions were made when Pressler agreement came into force(although its unfair to sanction the purchases predate the agreement). But then again you were also helped by US (Majority of your military aid about $3.5 billion was used) for development of your nuclear program...