by Harsh V Pant
Cold Start doctrine, 135
Cold War nuclear dynamics, 9, 42, 51, 53, 106–8, 115, 126, 131, 164–65
Colombo Plan, 30–31
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), 10, 17, 55, 118, 120–21, 127, 159, 162
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), 77, 102, 112
Delivery Systems (Prevention of Unlawful Activities) Act, 156
Desai, Morarji, 11, 86–88, 94, 96, 101
Dhar, Prithvi Narain, 74
Dirac, Paul, 24
Draft Nuclear Doctrine of India, 145, 154
Eighteen Nation Disarmament Committee (ENDC), 56, 60
Eisenhower, President, 29
Exercise Brasstacks, 110
Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), 17, 118, 127, 157, 159, 161–62
Gandhi, Indira, 58, 61, 71, 73, 94, 96–97, 100
Gandhi, Mahatma, 21
General Electric (GE) reactors, 34
Glenn Amendment, 119
global nuclear order, 155–59
Haksar, P.N., 71, 74
India’s ‘nuclear option’ strategy, 62–72
India’s nuclear policy
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), role of, 11, 27–29
domestic politics, 9–10
nuclear threat from China, 8–9, 44, 106
Pakistani nuclear programme, 9, 89–103, 106
Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), 11
role of key individuals, 11
India’s nuclear tests, 123–24
India’s nuclear trajectory, 131, 141–48
ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), 113, 142n7, 145–46, 163
disarmament and arms control, 159–62
doctrinal formulation of ‘credible minimum deterrence’ (CMD), 148
missile capabilities, 142
‘no first use’ (NFU), 125, 139, 146, 149–55
nuclear doctrine, 145, 154
nuclear submarine programme, 142–43
sea-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), 160
India’s policy choices and their consequences
China’s opposition to India’s NSG membership, 17–18
moral crusade against nuclear weapons, 15
nuclear ambiguity, 12, 15
nuclear certainty, policy of, 15
nuclear reluctance, 13–15
political parties and, 18
principle of non-proliferation, 16, 91–92, 94–96, 103–4, 107, 115–24, 126, 128, 131, 155–56
selective defiance of global nuclear order, 14
India–China boundary dispute, 139
India–Pakistan relationship, 100, 106, 113–14, 125, 131–32
Indian National Congress, 10
Indo-China war, 1962, 64
Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement, 161
Indo-US nuclear deal, 16, 158
nuclear dialogue, 1994, 118–19
Indo-US relations, 72, 87–88
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), 102
International Atomic Development Authority (IADA), 36
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 20, 38–39, 84, 93
Jan Sangha, 10
Jha, L.K., 58–59
Johnson, Lyndon, 51
Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), 92–93
Kampani, Gaurav, 75
Kargil War, 125
Karmal, Babrak, 97
Khan, A.Q., 91–93, 95, 110, 159
Levy, Adrian, 89
Lewis, W.B., 40
Limited Test Ban Treaty, 44
London Group, 85
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), 115
Modi, Narendra, 18
moral superiority, idea of, 7
multilateral nuclear security guarantees, 56
Narasimha Rao’s nuclear policy, 116–21
Nathu la crisis, 70n16
national identity, 7
National Research Experimental (NRX) reactor, 31–32
Nehru, Jawaharlal, 1, 5, 7–8, 49, 62
Nehruvian era
India’s defence policy in 1947, 23
India’s nuclear agreements with foreign countries, 39
India’s nuclear trajectory under, 23–24
institutionalization of atomic research, 25
international control over nuclear technology and material, 35–40
international cooperation and growth of atomic energy, 29–35
research and development (R&D) of atomic energy, 23
‘standstill agreement’, 42–43
support for nuclear disarmament, 22, 40–45
understanding of world politics, 22
worldview and atomic energy programme, 19–21
Nixon, Richard, 72
non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS), 41, 118, 163
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), 10, 13–14, 59–62, 111, 119, 127
conditions for New Delhi to join, 55–57
divergence between India and other nuclear powers, 58
draft treaty, 1968, 60
India’s final act on, 61
India’s PNE and, 82–84
Jha’s mission, 58–59
UNDC debate on, 54–55
nuclear ambiguity policy, 12–13
nuclear apartheid, 163
nuclear arms race, 22
Nuclear Command Authority (NCA), 147–48
nuclear deterrence policy, 9, 56–57, 64, 67, 70–71, 81, 100, 105–6, 114, 128n10, 130–32, 138–40, 145–46, 148–55, 163
nuclear disarmament, 1, 22, 40–45, 159–62
nuclear energy programme, 2
Nuclear Non-proliferation Act (NNPA), 87–88
nuclear refrain policy, 3
nuclear reluctance, 13–15
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), 2, 16
India’s membership, 17–18, 157–59
nuclear weapons proliferation, model of, 3
Operation Parakram, 134
Pakistani nuclear weapons programme, 4, 89–96, 110, 132, 135–36
tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs), 136–37
peaceful nuclear explosion (PNE), 3, 8, 14
of 1974, 72–77, 79, 81
reactions to India’s, 82–88
Pokhran, 73
Project Phoenix, 33–34
PURNIMA reactor, 73
Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) reactors, 84–85
Rajiv Gandhi’s nuclear policy, 107, 128
20-year disarmament programme, 111–14
confidence-building measure (CBM) agreement, 109
minimum deterrence, 109
non-proliferation approach, 115–16
nuclear deterrence policy, 109–14
nuclear submarine programme, 113
nuclear weapons programme, 108–15
renunciation of nuclear weapons, 111
Ramanna, Raja, 101
Salam, Abdus, 28
Sarabhai, Vikram, 11, 71
Scott-Clark, Catherine, 89
sea-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), 160
Sethna, Homi, 34
Shastri, Lal Bahadur, 11, 52, 62
Singh, Arun, 108
Singh, Jaswant, 124
Singh, Swaran, 60
Singh, V.P., 113–14
South Asia’s nuclearization, consequences of, 99, 105
Soviet nuclear policy, 53–54
Soviet nuclear tests, 1949 and 1954, 37, 42
Soviet Union, 9, 34, 57–58
ban on nuclear tests, 44
invasion of Afghanistan, 80–81, 87, 97
on India’s quest for diplomatic deterrent, 51–54
Sino-Soviet relations, 53, 70, 72
‘standstill agreement’, 42
Strategic Forces Command (SFC), 147–48
Subrahmanyam, K., 111
Sunderji, K., 108
Swatantra Party, 10
Tarapur Atomic Power Stations (TAPS), 34, 86, 88
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), 24
Tata, J.R.D., 24
Tata, Sir Dorabji, 24
third tier nuclear state, 130
Treaty of Friendship, 1971, 115
United Kingdom (UK), role in India’s nuclear programme, 3, 20, 30, 34, 39, 46, 50–51, 53, 83, 158
United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC), 41, 43
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), 37, 60, 121–22
United Nations Security Council, 7
United States Atomic Energy Commission (USAEC), 32
US nuclear policy, 51–54
non-proliferation policy, 66, 87, 94, 98, 104–5, 115, 118
under Carter administration, 87, 94, 98
under Reagan administration, 98
Vajpayee’s nuclear policy, 5, 11, 121–25, 161
‘commitment to non-proliferation’ and ‘maintain stringent export controls’, 126–27
‘no first use’ (NFU) against nuclear weapon states, 125
‘non-use’ of nuclear weapons against NNWS, 126
Vance, Cyrus, 96
Varma, A.N., 119
Venkataraman, R., 101
Wassenaar Arrangement groupings, 158
Wilson, Harold, 52
Wisner, Frank, 119
Wolfgang, Pauli, 24
ZERLINA reactor, 33–34
Zia-ul-Haq, Muhammad, 110
About the Authors
Harsh V. Pant is distinguished fellow and head of strategic studies at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, India. He holds a joint appointment as professor of International Relations in Defence Studies Department and the India Institute at King’s College London, UK. He is also a non-resident fellow with the Wadhwani Chair in US–India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC. Pant is also a columnist for the Diplomat and writes regularly for various media outlets including the Japan Times, the Wall Street Journal, the National (UAE), and the Indian Express.
Yogesh Joshi is a Stanton Nuclear Security postdoctoral fellow at Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, California, USA. He has a PhD in international politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University specializing in Indian foreign and security policy. He has held fellowships at George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA, King’s College London, UK, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, DC, USA. He has co-authored two books: The US ‘Pivot’ and Indian Foreign Policy: Asia’s Emerging Balance of Power (2015) and India and Nuclear Asia: Forces, Doctrines and Dangers (2018).
