Charting its own path

Charting its own path

News

1. Priyanjali Malik, an expert on nuclear security in South Asia, talks about India’s position after 20 years of Pokhran.

Important Analysis

2. After Pokhran India has shifted its focus from Nuclear Bomb to its civil nuclear technology. India now celebrate May 11 as National Technology Day,
3. Author consider Pokhran test as the last truly sovereign decision taken by India in the field of nuclear capability. In present context nuclear technology became a global concern.
4. Nuclear presence in South Asia gave Pakistan the ability to invite international attention to the bilateral relation by playing on extra-regional fears of tensions escalating to a nuclear level.
5. India after Pokhran

• No place at the top table: NPT sanctioned only 5 states that conducted a nuclear test before 1968 as NWS. However India’s position in global arena is better than other two nuclear weapon state of Pakistan and North Korea.
• India not looking for NPT: India acknowledge that NPT cannot recognize it as nuclear have state. Thus India’s nuclear choice is to make NPT irrelevant
• India to join MECR: India joined three out of four MECR group ie MTCR, Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group recently. India is also vocal about joining NSG.
• Focus on civil use: India signed civil nuclear deal with US in 2008. This deal reflects India’s steady shift from nuclear weapons towards civil nuclear technology.
• Draft nuclear doctrine: India published its first nuclear doctrine within five years of testing. US released its Nuclear Posture Review in 1994. No other state has explicitly published doctrine.
• Responsible Nuclear state: India shows its position as responsible nuclear state on various occasion such as during kargil war and Mumbai attack. India restraint herself from nuclear retaliation.
• Less focus on modernizing nuclear assets: US, Russia, China and Pakistan are modernizing their nuclear assets by developing tactical nuclear weapons in recent times. India still follow minimum credible deterrence. In 2003, India declared that India will respond to WMD use against it with a strike to cause maximum damage.
• India declared a self-moratorium on nuclear test after Pokhran test.