Frontline
January 2000
Review

Defusing the bomb

The world has left the Chechen to be ground into bloody pulp by Russia’s killing machine — a crime largely financed by U.S. and western dollars

BY Eric Mongolis


This book will be a landmark in the scholarly (and politically committed!) engagement with the issue of the terrifying speed with which the governments of India and Pakistan seem determined to transform their respective countries into so-called nuclear powers. By placing this development in the context of the growth of a retrograde and aggressive communal nationalism in both countries, it examines the frightening consequences for the security of people in both countries as well as the rest of South Asia. And by placing it in the broader context of the global nuclear regime, they demonstrate its negative fall-out for the worldwide struggle for total nuclear disarmament.

The nuclear tests of May 1998 were justified by the argument that they were essential to the ‘national security’ of the two countries. Apologists for the disastrous step taken by the Indian government in precipitating a nuclear arms race on the subcontinent proclaimed that these weapons would bring peace. The Kargil conflict which broke out shortly afterwards demonstrated just how hollow these claims were, and how apt was the authors’ critique of ‘the deterrence delusion’. They point out the absurdity of seeking peace and stability by generating fear and hostility in one’s opponent, thus heightening tensions and increasing the risk of conflict.

Simple logic would lead to the conclusion that it is the reduction of threats and promotion of cooperation and friendship that results in greater security for the people of the two countries. But such logic seems to be beyond the reach of political leaderships who are intent on achieving the prestige and status they mistakenly believe is linked to the possession of nuclear weapons.
In addition to this dangerous undermining of security, nuclearisation has other negative consequences for both countries. The authors examine some of these: the strengthening of aggressive communal forces, the reinforcement of anti-democratic and authoritarian tendencies, and the ruinous cost of these weapons which will be a further set-back to development and poverty reduction. They provide more than enough evidence to support their conclusion that ‘India and Pakistan must move firmly towards denuclearization’.

However, the negative consequences of nuclearisation in South Asia go beyond the region. The authors argue powerfully for the total indefensibility of nuclear weapons as such, even in terms of internationally recognised norms of warfare. These require the protection of non-combatants, yet nuclear weapons inflict large-scale death and injury on civilians. And weapons that cause excessive and unnecessary suffering are also ruled out, yet as the horrendous consequences of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed, unspeakable pain was inflicted on the helpless victims.

The excuse that nuclear weapons are only to be used as a ‘deterrent’, even a ‘minimal’ one, involves the readiness, under certain circumstances, to inflict this kind of hideous suffering on large numbers of innocent people. The argument that therefore the only moral and secure defence against nuclear weapons is global disarmament has slowly but surely been gaining ground worldwide.

In this context, advocating or actually undertaking the development of a nuclear arsenal constitutes a legitimation of these weapons of mass destruction, a sad set-back for the untiring efforts of peace activists throughout the world who have struggled for decades to get them abolished.

So, what is to be done? The authors were campaigning for the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) at a time when some of the opportunists now supporting such a move were denouncing it as being ‘discriminatory’. The failure of a Republican-dominated US Senate to ratify the treaty has confirmed, although in a negative fashion, the authors’ contention that the CTBT is a significant measure of nuclear restraint, and should continue to be pursued.

In addition, they propose a strategy which combines working for the final goal of total disarmament with pursuing partial, transitional steps towards that goal. This would require setting up a multilateral body authorised to carry out the negotiations leading to disarmament.

They outline three possible routes towards setting up such a body which are not mutually exclusive, and can be explored concurrently: establishing a Nuclear Weapons (Abolition) Convention; setting up an Ad Hoc Committee on Global Disarmament in the UN Conference on Disarmament; and using the disarmament provisions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty to generate pressure for such a process.

There are strengths and weaknesses in each of these approaches, and all would require global cooperation between anti-nuclear campaigners. A successful campaign for a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone in South Asia would bring a much-needed reprieve for the people of the subcontinent.

This book is essential reading for anyone involved in the struggle for communal harmony and peace in South Asia. Let us hope that OUP will not delay bringing out a paperback version which can reach those unable to afford the hardback!

Rohini Banaji
South Asia on a Short Fuse: Nuclear Politics and the Future of Global Disarmament, Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik, OUP, New Delhi, 1999, 354 pages, hardback, Rs 595.


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