Is India a Nuke Power or Is It a Sophomore Kid?

India a nuke power

There are five NPT nuke powers: the US, Russia, China, France and the UK; three non-NPT nuke powers: India, Pakistan, and North Korea; and one undeclared nuke power: Isreal. Out of these, China is the only one which has no first use policy. Isreal has around 80 nukes but won’t declare them till it has to use any. South Africa made around 6 nukes much before Pakistan and India even dreamt of it, but soon abandoned its nuke program (but, of course, you don’t forget bicycling just because you puncture your Tyre tube). Japan has the capability to make nukes on a few days notice. Iran is almost a nuke power. North Korea is also a nuke power, courtesy Benazir Bhutto (that’s the reason she was killed, rest all is BS). The US and Russia have nukes far greater than any other country: There are around 16,000 nukes, out of which India and Pakistan have 120 each ( Ok…Pakistan has 10 more, which makes it an irresponsible nuke power); China has around 260; Isreal, 80; France, 300; and the UK, 210; North Korea’s numbers are not known, but they won’t be more than 10; so, the rest is owned by the US and Russia in almost equal proportions, for Soviet Union adopted the policy of nuclear parity with the US after its humiliation in 1962 Cuban crisis; it is believed there were around 60,000 nukes at the end of the cold war, with 98% owned by these two countries.

My school classmate, who joined chemical engineering after school, told me after the first year of engineering that he could then design a nuke bomb; I thought it was a retort to my claim that I could then design a house after one year at School of Planning and Architecture (SPA). Nevertheless, he shifted gears and became an ethical hacker for the Indian army for some good time. I think he was telling the truth. It should indeed be as easy (or may be even easier) to design a nuke bomb as it is to design a good house because ethical hackers don’t lie (do they?). BTW, the Scandinavian countries are adamant not to make a nuke, may happen whatever; they want to live in houses, not to die in smoke.

So, what did India really gain by designing a nuke when every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it! Even if you end up designing something as obnoxious as a nuke bomb, what’s the need to declare it unless you are a school sophomore! Indian government under NDA acted similarly kiddish in 1998 by testing nukes; it’s just that they had not even completed the first year of schooling. Well, what India lost was it’s opportunity to leave Pakistan behind, far behind, in history. Pakistan, of course, followed suit and entangled India in a triple-leg race, where India can’t run faster than Pakistan, for its one leg is tied to that of Pakistan’s. Interestingly, India did it when China didn’t even had the pre-emptive nuke use policy. What was it thinking? Was it thinking that the US will include India in its rugby team. In fact, the US made sure India is not even allowed to carry towel in the play ground. Only in 2008 when India mortgaged its nuke program to run its nuclear reactors with the Russian help, to generate power for the corporate in Maharashtra, that the US allowed India to enter the field but as a mannequin only. And Modi thinks his 56″ chest qualifies him to bang veterans like China.

Of course, the US support to India’s bid to enter the NSG, in which only NPT signatories are allowed, is like a “Choli Ke Peeche” song, on which it wants India to dance, if nothing else than for entertainment. The US is far ahead of China and Russia in the race, whereas India is umbilically tied to Pakistan. What makes India think it can just break the umbilical cord and run ahead of Pakistan. China, by openly supporting Pakistan, has left India far behind in the race and has positioned itself at par with the US. In such circumstances, isn’t it obvious the US won’t stretch its support to India any further so as to get itself tied to China in an umbilical cord in a manner similar to that India is tied to Pakistan. If the US were to do so, the clear gainer would be Russia, who can then any time support China and throw the US out of the ring. No, the US is not a sophomore kid. It is just trying its hand at some Bollywood beats given Modi is so fond of dancing on item numbers.

Anyways, what I am more curious about is when China will start supporting North Korea for NSG. That would be it for India!

P. S. Btw, the two football playing nations, Brazil and Argentina, can also play rugby as well as football.

 

Copyright 2016 Ankur Mutreja

Featured Image Credit: Daniel Case (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Point_crop.jpg)

About the Author

Ankur Mutreja
Ankur Mutreja is an advocate-cum-writer, and his blogs are amongst his modes of expression. He has also authored number of books, which can be downloaded from the links on the top menu.

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