NEW DELHI: Indian must should opt for nuclear weapons capability to serve as a deterrent since both China and Pakistan have overtaken it in this field India’s former army chief Gen. K V Krishna Rao has said.
India which used to be ahead of even China in development of nuclear research has long been overtaken by China in the development of nuclear weapons capability and now even Pakistan has successfully exploded the device and gone ahead in this field the general says in his about-to be-released book prepare or perish a study of national security.
Quite obviously in the event of confrontation India cannot afford to enter the war on the wrong foot and since the U S and the UN have not been able to prevent Pakistan acquiring nuclear capability India cannot afford to waste any further time in developing a nuclear weapon capability he says.
Gen Krishna Rao says China was well on way to achieving a second strike nuclear capability while Pakistan was also clandestinely going ahead with its program and both could use this capability to intimidate and threaten India.
The former army chief who also held several gubernatorial posts says Pakistan’s national aim at present was to force secession of Jammu and Kashmir from India.
He described the large scale infiltration of militants into Kashmir and Punjab and movement of highly sophisticated weaponry in Indian-held territory as Pakistan’s deep strategic plan to encircle Amritsar enter deep into Punjab to cut off the entire Jammu and Kashmir and to inflict destruction on the Indian armed forces.
To support his suggestion that India go nuclear Gen Rao says there has never been a war on the soil of nuclear weapon power and as long as the deterrent effect of such weapons lasted India could secure its vital interest effectively like other nuclear powers.
Gen Rao says in India’s case with its technological advancement vis-a-vis. nuclear weapons rocketry and missile development the cost of a small but top quality nuclear force would not be much.
He urges that development of technology will have its own spin off in the field of economic development
Quoting United Nations estimates Gen Rao says it would cost: Rs 42 billion to develop a nuclear weapons capability for India. He says a country already spending 3.5% of its GNP on defence the increase in case of nuclear option would be just one to two per cent.
The former army chief says if India wished to retain its independent decision-making power and if it were to play a more meaningful role in international affairs it had no other option but to go nuclear.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 22, 1991
