Should India Manufacture Nuclear Bomb?

Vice proclaimed that history is a regular alternation between progress and regress. Similarly, Saint Simon looked upon history as a series of oscillations between organic and creative period. It is difficult to say whether the world is progressing or degeneration. Some nations are exploiting the resources of Nature and developing the potentialities of human resources but others are manufacturing nuclear weapons. We talk of international co-operation and affirm the concept of international community but peace has been dodging us and war has all the time been threatening the world. There are means to understand one another but international misunderstanding has brought us to a state of war. So in the light of these considerations we will have to think whether India should manufacture nuclear weapons or not. We have been wedded to the policy of non-violence. Arduous effort for peace is the only sensible practical politics. India has been trying to lay the foundations of peace with patience, persistence and good-will. We have been thinking of bringing order and raising human dignity to recreate a fine vision of the world. In order to make this dream a reality we have been working consistently without being deterred by the set-backs. Moreover it is better “to fail in a right cause …. than succeed in a wrong cause.” If this is the line of thinking, should we think of manufacturing nuclear weapons?

In fact our democracy is on trial. It is threatened by the forces working within the country and without the country. We cannot establish international peace till some of the countries remain underdeveloped or continue fighting against one another. We must assist politically young and economically backward countries. Though we stand for the ideals of political freedom, economic justice and international peace but some nations do not accept our ideals. Pakistan has always been trying to blackmail India by crippling our economy and by disfiguring our ideals. Similarly, China has always been casting greedy eyes upon India. The Chinese has been training Nagas and Mizos in order to create disruption in India. Naturally, these two nations whenever they feel that their tactics do not succeed, wage a war against India. A war for a fortnight brings so much economic imbalance that we are unable to make our economy sound. So nuclear weapons will dampen their enthusiasm to do harm to us. It is not possible to make use of nuclear weapons in the event of any conflict because such an action would invite greater trouble and many big countries would jump into the arena. Still nuclear weapons would definitely make China and Pakistan less hostile.

In the present day world there is a race for nuclear weapons. Every nation is trying its best, if it is within her capacity, to manufacture nuclear bombs. Naturally, if India manufactures these weapons she will get higher status among the community of nations. The bigger nations will not take us to be a weak nation. If we are dragged into a nuclear race, it would not make any substantial loss; now-a-days joining the nuclear race gives more prestige than anything else. This is what India needs. India has the potentiality to become the leader of Asia. But if we are not strong, from the military point of view, no nation is going to respect us. Only the strong nations can choose between cooperation and spirit of freedom on one side and fear and suspicion on the other side. It is foolishness to talk of peace simply because others want us to talk of it.

It has been pointed out that India will have to incur a huge expenditure for manufacturing these weapons. Of course, it needs quite a big amount but can we afford to become weak militarily? If we stress this argument a little further we will have to say that there is no need for army because it involves heavy expenditure. For preserving the sovereignty of the State, the states spend a huge amount of money; why should India hesitate from spending? No doubt some of the developmental programmes will have to be given up yet it would be nothing more than fixing the priorities.

When we were helping Bangladesh, America paraded the Seventh Fleet in the Indian Ocean. That was meant to create baseless fear in our minds and so to force us to accept submission before the U.S.A. We are still to find a nation that has thrived because of the foreign aid. Aid-giving nations have always been trying to grind their own axe. Under such circumstances we will have to become as strong as it is possible so that other nations may not bully us to accept their domination.

Despite the community feeling which has been cultivated among the nations of the world, mutual understanding among the nations is still a far cry. Distance has been reduced and the nations have come closer, at least geographically, but the distance created by disagreement and differences still persists. Similarly despite the civilized code for international behaviour we have been using national power to tackle inter-state problems. Man is power-hungry and at the national level this desire is sublimated to national glory, sometimes to racial purity. In the international field strange type of forces are at work; a nation’s supremacy is determined by her military power which in its turn uses politics as a lever to subjugate nations. Under such circumstances even the smaller nations have started thinking of becoming nuclear powers. Nuclear weapons serve as a damper for those nations which indulge in military adventures. India’s position in the world-politics is novel and significant – novel because she is sincerely working for peace though no nation allows peace to prosper. India, has the potential power of becoming a leading nation of the world and China does not want that India should snatch Asian leadership. American influence in Asia would fade away if India becomes an Asian leader. So India has no allies though many nations may show lip sympathy. Russian help during Indo-Pak conflict was guided more by political expediency. In such a state of virtual isolation India should put her own shoulder to the wheel and manufacture nuclear weapons.

India’s policy of non-alignment which implies involvement in world politics without betraying any partiality or prejudice has created uncertainty regarding India’s affiliations. To them India is not a dependable ally. Subdued criticism of Russian policies’ denunciation of America have made India an uncertain ally. At least they are not sure about India’s leanings. So we will have to depend upon our own resources for meeting the challenge of the enemies.

It can be further argued that India is flanked by two unprincipled and dangerous enemies, China and Pakistan. China, hungry for domination and Pakistan, with instinctive hatred for India, can pose a perpetual threat to our security. In order to frighten them away from any adventure India needs nuclear weapons, latest war with Pakistan cannot be considered a decisive victory; half defeated enemy can never reconcile with the situation. Through pressures from outside Pakistan may tilt the balance in her favour as it was done at the time of Tashkant Declaration. Till India herself becomes a power our policy will always be conditioned by the external pressures.

China’s nuclear explosions have made us to feel that our neighbouring nations are having an edge over us. This line of thinking colours public opinion. In case the Government fails to give a practical shape to it, fear may grip the mind of the people. Nuclear weapons will give confidence and a nation that loses confidence cannot fight for the right cause and cannot have independent thinking. Similarly, some say that our policy of co-existence, peaceful solution of world problems would receive a serious setback; we cannot preach peace while we are arming ourselves to teeth. I think India will be in a better position to dictate the terms of peace. A nation which has no military power is too weak to dictate terms. Its sincerity is termed as weakness and humility is branded as cowardice.

Under the present set of circumstances we cannot afford to keep away from the nuclear race. History is a testimony to the assertion that any nation that has failed to keep pace with the advancing nations has never survived for a long time. The danger of attacks from different sides is always there because we are the target of many jealous nations. Possessing nuclear weapons is in the interest of national security and national prestige though some may consider it contrary to national policies. Are we to sacrifice exigencies of circumstances for ideals? Policies must change. If we endanger our freedom and give initial advantage to the enemy, if we stick to ideals ignoring the realities, if we are to act in the living present-and we must because present is the culmination of the efforts of the past and the basis of the future struggle-we must manufacture nuclear weapons.