


Friday, July 3, 2009


BY J. Narayana Rao.
General Secretary , All India Peace &Solidarity Organization
Maharashtra State Committee, INDIA.

After US dropped Nuclear Weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Aug 1945, killing lakhs of people and destroying both the citities the entire mankind was appauled and horrified at this barbaric and inhuman act.

Mahatma Gandhi expressed his anguish on the barbarity through a statement published in “Harijan” a journal which he used to edit and publish during the freedom struggle. On September 29, 1946 he wrote that “I regard the employment of the atom bomb for the whole sale destruction of men, women and children as the most diabolical use of Science”. In unequivocal terms Mahatma Gandhi condemned the use of Atomic Weapons to kill people. This is not only a reflection of his philosophy of non-violence but a total disapproval of the use of science for killing human beings to such a magnitude.

Sensing that the madness of Nuclear Proliferation Gandhiji advocated that non-violence should become an integral part of human society. Subsequently Gandhiji expressed that “unless the world adopts non-violence, this will spell certain suicide for humanity. I hold that those who invented the atomic bomb have committed the gravest sin”. Thus Gandhiji expressed his total disapproval of producing and using atomic weapons.

When Mrs. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India,on 18.05.1974 the first nuclear test was conducted at Pokharan in the State of Rajasthan. That event code named as ‘Buddha has smiled. It was a great humiliation for the memory of a great person who lived for Peace & Non-violence. Then it was declared that this explosion was for peaceful purposes and India had no intention to produce Nuclear Weapons. From 1974 till 1998 India remained a non-nuclear country.


Late Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, made a fervent and passionate appeal against nuclear weapons in his speech on June 9,1988 in the United Nations General Assembly. He demolished every argument in support of the nuclear weapons in a splendidly articulated address. He expressed that “It is a dangerous delusion to believe that nuclear weapons have brought us peace. It is true that in the past four decades, parts of the world have experienced an absence of war. But a mere absence of war is not a durable peace. The balance of Nuclear terror rests on the retention and augmentation of nuclear armories. He assailed the concept of nuclear deterrence by saying that “nuclear deterrence is the ultimate expression of the philosophy of terrorism, holding humanity hostage to the presumed security needs of a few”.
Rajiv Gandhi stood for a nonviolent world order, free of nuclear weapons. He concluded his address to the U.N general Assembly by saying that “the battle for peace, disarmament and development must be waged both within this Assembly and outside by the people of the world. This battle should be waged in cooperation with scientists, strategic thinkers and leaders of peace movements who have repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to those ideals. We, therefore, seek their cooperation in securing the commitment of all nations and all peoples to the goal of non-violent order free of nuclear weapons.


Unfortunately Rajiv Gandhi was assasinated and after his death India could’t stick to Nuclear Non-Proliferation. When the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party under the Prime Ministership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to power, on May 11,1998 India tested three nuclear devices and on May 13,1998 two more were tested .Thus India became the sixth country to join the Nuclear Club. It was declared immediately that “India will not be first to initiate a nuclear first strike, but will respond with punitive retaliation should deterrence fail”.

There are different estimates regarding the number of Nuclear Weapons which are in the possession of India now. According to the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission headed by Hans Blix, there are about 50 Nuclear Weapons with India. According to another estimate India has produced enough weapons grade plutonium for 50-90 more nuclear weapons and an unknown quantity of weapons grade uranium.


Why India tested Nuclear Weapons in 1998,when, even prior to Independence in 1948,prominent leaders of India were advocating against Nuclear Weapons. Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi have expressed in un-equivocal terms against Nuclear Weapons and wanted that Nuclear weapons should be banned. The May 1998 tests were conducted by the NDA Government and not by the Congress Government. Relations with two important neighbouring countries were not so good. There was a war with China in 1962 and India and Pakistan fought on the issue of Kashmir thrice. China has border claims on some Indian territory including Arunachalpradesh one of the North East States of India. But the relations between India and China are steadily improving.

Do the difference between India and China and India &Pakistan justify India possessing Nuclear Weapons. But ever since China tested a Nuclear Weapon in 1964 for what ever reasons, a section of the Political leadership of India is inching for India to become Nuclear since then.This ambition was fulfilled when the NDA Government came to power in 1998.Even after a new Government headed by the Congress Party came to power there is no change towards nuclearisation and the Nuclear Weapons have become part of the Indian weaponary system.


From the beginning India was linking the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty(CTBT) with total ban on nuclear weapons. Ban on testing should ultimately lead to ban nuclear weapons. Former Prime Minister of India Morarji Desai put forth a proposal in the U.N. General Assembly on 9 June 1978 containing (1) A declaration that utilization of nuclear technology for military purposes, including research in weapons technology should be outlawed.(2) Qualitative and quantitative limitations on nuclear weapons and an immediate freeze under international inspection (3) Formulation of a time bound program not exceeding a decade for gradual reduction of the stockpile with a view to achieving total elimination of all nuclear weapons and (4) A comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to be adopted. The Indian stand was a Comprehensive Test Ban should be part of a comprehensive agreement on total ban on Nuclear Weapons.
The first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru realized as early as in 1954 after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed with Atomic Weapons in August 1945 that the new weapon if not prohibited, many countries will try to acquire these weapons. Nehru wrote in 1954 that “fear would grow and grip nations and peoples and each would try frenetically to get this new weapon or some adequate protection from it” and Nehru recognized that “a dominating factor in the modern world is this prospect of these terrible weapons suddenly coming into use before which our normal weapons are completely useless”.

India mooted several proposals which were much more useful than the CTBT. When Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, in 1982 India proposed a convention on no use or threat to use of nuclear weapons, a freeze on the manufacture of nuclear weapons, combined with a cut-off in the production of fissionable material for weapons purpose.

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi proposed an action plan in 1988.The salient features of this plan were that (1)Nuclear Weapon States were to cease production of nuclear weapons and weapons grade fissile material;(2) a CTBT Convention outlawing the use and threat to use of nuclear weapons were to be concluded and (3)transfer of weapons, delivery systems and weapon grade fissionable material were to cease and (4) non nuclear weapon powers would not acquire nuclear weapons.


Article 9 of the Indo-US 123 Nuclear Deal for peaceful use of nuclear energy prohibits “Nuclear material, equipment and components transferred pursuant to this Agreement and nuclear material and by-product material used in or produced through the use of any nuclear material, equipment, and components so transferred shall not be used by the recipient party for any nuclear explosive device, for research on or development of any nuclear explosive device or for any military purpose”.

This Article does’t interfere with using domestic fissile material for producing nuclear weapons. The Uranium that will be now imported can completely go for power generation and the domestic product can be fully diverted for nuclear weapon production. This will augment the Nuclear Weapons stock in the Country.


Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is linked with elimination of Nuclear Weapons ultimately. But inspite of this treaty is in existence since 1968,for want of unanimity on how and when Nuclear Weapons can be eliminated, there is no progress in implementing the objectives of this treaty. The position of India is that it is either NPT or CTBT elimination of Nuclear Weapons should be targeted. India during the time of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru proposed as early as in 1954 that the Nuclear Testing should be stopped. India refused to sign the NPT since this treaty is not leading to ending the nuclear weapons and it devides the country into two groups; Nuclear Weapon Countries and non Nuclear Weapon Countries. India wants a universal and comprehensive non-proliferation treaty. But the treaty allowed possession and multiplication of nuclear stockpiles by some countries.

In 1982 India proposed a convention to ban nuclear weapons and it was reiterated in 1988 during the U.N Special session on Disarmament. In a scathing attack on the previliged position of some countries to hold nuclear weapons indefinitely while others are being pressurized not to be nuclear in the name of non-proliferation, Rajiv Gandhi the then Prime Minister of India, in a speech in the UN argued that “we cannot accept the logic that few nations have the right to pursue their security by threatening the survival of mankind nor is it acceptable that those possess nuclear weapons are free of all controls while those without nuclear weapons are policed against their production. History is full of such prejudices paraded as iron laws. That men are superior to women; that white races are superior to the coloured; that colonialism is a civilizing mission; and that those who possess nuclear weapons are responsible powers and those who do not are not”.

The content of the NPT has not changed inspite of many review meetings and the stand of India has also not changed and screwed to the logic of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. India has got a holistic approach regarding abolition of Nuclear Weapons, CTBT and NPT. What is lacking is India’s initiative in the international arena to press for it’s stand. After Rajiv Gandhi’s address in the UN General Assembly on June 9,1988 India has not tried to press the big powers who are holding the maximum number of weapons to accept a time bound programme for abolition of Nuclear Weapons while some other countries are taking initiatives in this. The voice of India has become dormant. India has forsaken the idea of Rajiv Gandhi to wage the battle for peace, disarmament and development in cooperation with scientists, strategic thinkers and leaders of the peace movement.

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