India And The Emerging Non-Proliferation Order

India, one of the founder nations of the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM), have always maintained the neutral status regarding International concerns. However the Non-Proliferation order has assumed a new character after the Cold war. In the changed situations, India has always been at the hot seat for discussions regarding nuclear possessions in the recent times along with the Middle East nations.

The nuclear enrichment of India starts from the days of Indira Gandhi in the 1970s when the first of the Pokhran tests were conducted. Right then, the nuclear suppliers group (NSG) had imposed a ban of the sub-continent regarding the enrichment of nuclear material. This was further strengthened after the 1999 Pokhran tests by the Vajpayee Government. The kargil war and the frequent terror attacks caused concerns in the western world about the feasibility of India possessing nuclear weapons.

The non-proliferation was started by the US President George Bush Sr. and followed by Bill Clinton in the early 90s in the wake of the victory of the west in the Cold war. But ever since the largest procurement of nuclear materials still remain with the US and Russia followed by their close allies like Israel. India stands at a precarious position in this context. India is still outside the permanent membership of the UN Security Council. This enables the powerful nations to force into submission by enacting rules and regulations in favour of complete nuclear proliferation. But India's stand has to be studied as it remains in the dangerous arena of the world with terrorism and unstable countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan around. Pakistan being a possessor of serious weapons of mass destructions adds to the dilemma.

In the non-proliferation concept, India has to be given a much broader perspective. The country has not conquered a foreign territory for self-interests in the past 500 years. It is the largest democratic nation existing presently. These pluses do give India a say in the International level about the weapons of mass destruction it possesses. The developed countries are in seek of a non-nuclear world in the wake of the changed global scenario. They are also pressurizing the NSG to impose ban on the countries that do not sign the non proliferation treaty. This is critical as the human kind is becoming more and more dependent on the nuclear energy as the oil and gas renewable resources are getting dried up at an alarming rate. So, in short, for countries like India, it is a trade-off between being energy self-sufficient and being at the receiving end of potential threat from unstable countries in the neighborhood.

The signing of the nuclear deal during the Manmohan Government in 2008 has paved way for a better supply of nuclear ores from the various suppliers, but we have to notice that in course of time, everyone will have to pay the price. So let's cross the fingers and hope that the diplomats will find a way out of this dilemma.

Nikhil N