Indian Nuclear Deterrence

Its Evolution, Development and Implications for South Asian Security

Zafar Iqbal Cheema

This study establishes, through incontrovertible documentary evidence, the fallacy of the conventional view that India's nuclear program entailed 'exclusively peaceful uses' during the Nehru era. Indian Nuclear Deterrence suggests that the BJP government's decision to carry out the May 1998 nuclear tests was not an original one, but a step within that strategic continuum. It also analyzes the dynamics of Indian nuclear deterrence, Indian nuclear doctrine and its implications for South Asian security.

Indian Nuclear Deterrence

Its Evolution, Development and Implications for South Asian Security

Zafar Iqbal Cheema

Description

The significance of Indian Nuclear Deterrence is that it establishes the fallacy of conventional perspectives on Indian nuclear deterrence--that the Indian nuclear program entailed 'exclusively peaceful uses' during the Nehru era and the development of weapons capability was initiated by the government of Lal Bahadur Shastri after the first Chinese nuclear explosion in 1964. On the contrary, the book provides incontrovertible documentary evidence that Dr. Homi J. Bhabha formulated with Nehru's approval a nuclear weapons development strategy within the structural framework of the Indian civilian nuclear program. Nehru was interested in a nuclear weapons capability for a 'deterrent in extremis'.

The central premise of Indian Nuclear Deterrence is that BJP government's decision to carry out the May 1998 nuclear tests was not an original one, but a step prefigured in a strategic continuum whose genesis dates back to the late 1950s. It suggests that the declaration of Indian nuclear deterrence after the May 1998 nuclear tests, the weaponization of Indian nuclear capability and the pronouncement of the Draft Nuclear Doctrine (DND) were not separate from earlier policies, but instead were part of that strategic continuum. The study analyzes the dynamics of Indian nuclear deterrence, Indian nuclear doctrine, and their implications for South Asian security.

It is the first time that mostly primary archival, and documentary research material from diverse sources has been explored to write a book on this topic. It is more comprehensive than any other book on this subject in terms both of its timeframe (1947 until now) and of the issues covered--the evolution, development, dynamics, and implications of Indian nuclear deterrence for South Asian Security. Indian Nuclear Deterrence is also the first book on the topic written from a Pakistani perspective.

Indian Nuclear Deterrence

Its Evolution, Development and Implications for South Asian Security

Zafar Iqbal Cheema

1. Introduction
2. The Nehru Era: Creating a Nuclear Weapons Option
3. Indian Nuclear Diplomacy: Protecting The Weapons Option
4. From Nuclear Option to a Weapons Capability (1964-1977)
5. Pakistan's Nuclear Policy and Its Input Into the Indian Nuclear Decision-Making
6. Indian Nuclear Policy: 1977-1998: Expanding the Weapons Capability
7. Dynamics of The Indian Nuclear (Deterrent) Capability: An Evaluation
8. The Indian Nuclear Doctrine: An Analysis
9. Development of Nuclear Deterrence in South Asia
10. Indian Nuclear Deterrence and Strategic Stability in South Asia
11. Summary

Indian Nuclear Deterrence

Its Evolution, Development and Implications for South Asian Security

Zafar Iqbal Cheema

Author Information

Zafar Iqbal Cheema has been Professor of Defense and Strategic Studies at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad since 1994, and Meritorious Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences there since 2005.