India has boosted its nuclear triad–nucleararmed strike aircraft, land-based inter-continental
ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and sea-based submarine-launched ballistic missiles
(SLBMs)–and now has a strong nuclear deterrence capability vis-a-vis its nucleararmed
neighbours. “Such [a triad] essentially increases the deterrence
potential of the state’s nuclear forces,” write Group Captain Ajay Lele (retd.)
and Parveen Bhardwaj of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), a New Delhi
think tank.
Given that a nuclear warhead with a yield
of 1 megaton can destroy almost 210 sq km,
roughly three times the size of South Mumbai,
it is largely inconsequential if Pakistan has 10
more warheads than India or China has 140
more, as data released by the Bulletin of
Atomic Scientists, a US advocacy that tracks
global nuclear arsenals, reveals.
Pakistan has also been recognised as having
the world’s fastest growing nuclear arsenal,
which, according to this New York Times
editorial, is turning South Asia into a “troubled
region with growing nuclear risks.”
Having more warheads than your opponent
does not necessarily translate to greater
security. This is largely because nuclear
weapons are weapons of mass destruction,
meant primarily to scare and deter, usually
ending in a situation of strategic stalemate
between countries that possess nuclear
weapons.
Nuclear weapons were used only twice in
battle, 69 years ago, dropped on the Japanese
cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and
never since. The possibility of “mutually assured
destruction”, or MAD, as it is commonly
known,also prevents their use in the subcontinent.
India’s nuclear-strike capability is strong
because it has multiple strike aircraft, such as
the nuclear-capable Anglo-French Jaguar,
French Dassault Mirage 2000 and the Russian
Sukhoi 30 MKI aircraft (being upgraded to
carry the nuclear-tipped supersonic Brahmos
missile).
Its land-based ballistic missiles include the
Agni V with a range of 5,000 km, which
means it can reach all of China. The Agni V
can be launched from a mobile transporter
or a special railway wagon, so it can be kept
hidden and moved at will, according to this
report. The third component of the triad is
under development, nuclear-powered Arihant
class submarines that are capable of
launching the 700-km range K-15 Sagarika
ballistic missile and the 3,000-km range K-4
ballistic missile.
China possesses a nuclear triad, but Pakistan,
which lacks sea-launch capability, does
not. No first use. That’s the declared essence
of India’s nuclear doctrine, adopted in January
2003.
It says India will use atomic weapons “in
retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian
territory or on Indian forces anywhere”. The
retaliation, said the report, “will be massive
and designed to inflict unacceptable damage”.
India also declares it will not use nuclear
weapons against non-nuclear weapon states.
According to the draft of the nuclear doctrine,
India needs “sufficient, survivable and operationally-
prepared nuclear forces”.
“Used in conjunction with the concepts
of “No First Use” and “Non Use” against
non-nuclear weapon states, it clearly indicates
that India envisages its nuclear weapons
as only a deterrent merely for defensive purposes
and not as a means to threaten others,”
writes Satish Chandra, former deputy national
security advisor.
The world first witnessed the destructive
capability of nuclear weapons in 1945, when
the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
killing approximately 2,00,000 people. The
event was a reference point for debates on
the political nature of nuclear weapons.
Under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru,
India pursued a policy of aversion toward nuclear-
weapons technology. However, with
the assistance of the United States and
Canada, India actively pursued its nuclear-energy
programme.
(Jeyaraman is Producer/News writer at
Boom Live. Sethi is an analyst at IndiaSpend.)
