Nuclear Weaponry: The Best Guarantee for Peace?

On 6th August 1945, a single US Air Force plane dropped a single atom bomb over the city of Hiroshima. Within minutes the city was a mass of dust and debris. Hours later, it was reported that 60% of the built-up area of the city was completely destroyed and thousands of civilians were killed. This is how the atomic age was introduced to the mankind. This marked the start of a new era.We may not like it – but we have to face it! We are living in a nuclear age where security issue leads to a possibility of war rather than peace. Consequently, we want and long for peace all over the world, but where and how is it to be established? This is the million-dollar question!



Some political personality has rightly said that:

“No sane citizen, no sane political leader, no sane nation wants thermonuclear war. But merely not wanting is not enough. It is imperative that we think soberly and realistically of the repercussions of usage of nuclear weaponry.”

Nuclear weapons are the weapons of aggression and the costliest addiction of all. They are capable of extinguishing the whole society at just one blow, thus bringing a new dimension to warfare. The reasons why we should dread and avoid these weapons are numerous. To mention a few:

• The economy of the country going for nuclearization suffers a lot, especially that of developing or under-developed countries. The resources of these nations are being allocated on nuclearization and military issues rather than for dealing with the basic issues like eradication of poverty and diseases, education, research and development, food and health care, etc. countries like India and Pakistan cannot afford the strain of nuclearization. Still, they are going for it.
• The spread of nuclear weaponry will accentuate the existing conflicts and political tensions, not to talk of creating new ones. This will seriously enhance the danger of a nuclear war.
• After an extensive nuclear attack by one nation over another, it is unlikely that the devastated and depopulated nation would be capable of survival, let alone the prospect of a counter attack. There will be no industries left, no government, no resources, no people, and no system…nothing to save further. We cannot imagine the destruction caused by these weapons!
• Nuclear weapons are giving rise to chemical and biological weapons. Nuclear radiation causes various syndromes and symptoms, leading to genetic and somatic diseases in organisms.

The Asian scenario is getting worse day by day. According to a report carried in the Wall Street Journal, Pakistan is modernizing its nuclear arsenal with plutonium bombs, missiles, and what not! If Pakistan’s striking capacity enhances, naturally India will have to gear up its defense requirements. Quoting the former Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee: “When India was surrounded by nuclear weaponry, we could not have allowed our country to be taken for surprise.”

So, Pakistan goes for nuclearization and India follows, then Pakistan follows and India further gears up, adding more tension to the already troubled and tense zone! This applies not only for these two nations but also to other nations. India had increased its nuclearization program also to resist nuclear blackmail by the neighboring states including China. China’s development of nuclear weaponry since 1964 threatened India. This is the competition and insecurity offered by the nuclear weaponry. This would provide the answer to those people who believe that nuclearization is important in the present times to provide security and proper defense. There was a time when it was suggested that India should stop accepting aid from U.S.A. as it was manufacturing nuclear weapons. However, after the 1998 nuclear tests carried by India, U.S.A. had imposed sanctions on India.

We should not live under any illusion that in case of a major aggression by any nuclear state or country the United Nations would be able to resolve the conflict. It cannot apply any conventional force against any state. So, where is the guarantee for peace and security by any international law or agency? Infact, acquiring nuclear weapons would ensure that the country would become a target for attack in case a war breaks out!

Restraint and partial disarmament would not help much. We need to stem out the proliferation of nuclear weaponry and other deadly weapons, especially in those areas where political and military tensions are more pronounced. We need to adopt Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of tolerance and non-violence for establishing global peace, thus encouraging welfare rather than warfare. The only way we are ever going to ensure peace on this planet is to adopt the entire world as ‘our family’ and try to make it a nuclear-weapon free zone.

To conclude, I would quote Kahlil Gibran:
‘A chemist who can extract from his heart element,
compassion, respect, longing, patience, regret, surprise and forgiveness,
and compound them into one, can create that atom which is called love.”
Hopefully, this atom can replace the other one.