Despite constant provocation, India's nuclear non-proliferation record is spotless. India remains a beacon of hope in responsible use of nuclear energy
Nuclear India, Peaceful intentions
For many decades now, India has remained a role model of peaceful use of nuclear energy, and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons technology despite constant provocations from two neighbours. Demands for reassessing India’s nuclear doctrine are raised regularly. But India is already committed to a “No First Use” or its intention to retaliate massively to any nuclear first strike by an enemy. But there is another aspect of it.
India reserves the right to nuclear retaliation in the event of a major attack against India or Indian forces anywhere, by biological or chemical weapons. Download SIPRI factsheet from Bodhi Resources page. We tend to club together nuclear first use and biological and chemical first use. The former has not occurred since 1945, and the latter, especially chemical, continues, whether by state or non-state actors. A recent example : the recent assassination of North Korean Kim Jong-nam in Malaysia by the chemical agent VX Although, chemical weapons are banned, they are frequently being used in Syria and Iraq, where their use is attributed to the Islamic State (IS).
The 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention has only partly made their use utterly responsible. There is a fairly strong norm governing non-use of nuclear weapons, whereas the norm against the use of chemical weapons is still not so strong. The Syria chemical weapons situation : Bashar al-Assad used the nerve agent sarin against civilians in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta in August 2013, killing over 1400 people. Though, President Obama invoked a ‘red line’ about the movement of chemical weapons in the region, eventually stepped back from a military response to that attack. A diplomatic solution was eventually found with the help of Russian President Putin, and Syria agreed to dismantle 1300 tonnes of chemical agents and acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Can India resist popular pressure for decisive retaliation if Indians suffered such a chemical attack is the main question? Nuclear weapons, at best, deter other nuclear weapons. These weapons are a political force, as limited number of states possesses them and they can cause immense generational and environmental consequences. In the words of late K Subrahmanyam, nukes are like “the million pound note” that is not to be squandered lightly. That is the reason why the No First Use policy works well. It builds stability into deterrence by promising retaliation in the event of extreme provocation. That also explains China’s anger at deployment of US THAAD in South Korea. Read a Bodhi on India’s defence preparedness, here. Read some Bodhi Saars on Nuclear weapons related issues, here
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