INDIA'S STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY.
Ever since the world war II the human society has been subjected
to constant fear of nuclear annihilation. As the time passed the
threat became more aggravated with constantly increasing nuclear
weapons. In the process the non-nuclear nations have become
more vulnerable for apparent reasons. They can not initiate a
nuclear war and yet they will not be spared if such a war begins.
Today in the twenty first century the human civilization can be
proud of its achievements but the temptation of dominance, inherent
in man's nature, has not only restricted the distribution of gains of
civilisation but led us to a knife edge path where the slightest error
will result in the complete destruction of mankind.
The very presence of atomic weapons on earth is highly dangerous.
Any natural accident can trigger their explosion. There can be
numerous circumstances when these warheads can blow off
without the intention of the possessor. Failure of machines or any
misunderstanding can play havoc with the earth. But the most
dreadful is the intentional use of these weapons, which can not be
ruled out.
In fact the peace talks currently going on, are only aiming at
postponement of the unfortunate event. They are not discussing
complete elimination of nuclear weapons from the face of the earth.
This is indeed an alraming situation and stregthens the speculation
that the use of the nuclear weapons is an imminent possibility.
Nothing short of complete eradication of nuclear arms can save us
from the disaster of an atomic war. Today or tomorrow the
existence of such weapons will plunge the humanity into such a war.
And complete eradication of nuclear weapons is almost a myth.
For strategic reasons the superpowers can not abandon nuclear
weapons because then the vast armies of the third world will
change the entire power configuration on the globe today. Few men
are willing to serve in the army in the US and hence USA can never
agree to dismantle its nuclear weapons. It is an utopia to think that
we can have a nuclear weapon free world before we have a
nuclear war.
The most optimistic picture therefore is that the super powers agree
to put a halt to the fast escalating arms race. Even this seems to be
a far-fetched idea in view of the current development of the Missile
Defence System by USA. Surely enough Soviet Union will soon
follow. And then we will have an European space defence system
and then China will try it sometime and like this we will have a
continuous proliferation of the nuclear weapon systems till nature
puts a halt to man's madness and we reach the point of the cycle
from where we started. In fact the current phenomenon of arms
race is logical and in conjunction with the development of our
civilization itself. As the civilization develops its warfare also must
develop because basically they go hand in hand. Hence at most we
can postpone the nuclear disaster that confronts us every morning.
The peace talks, the treaties, the negotiations etc. are meant to
maintain the existing power structure on the globe and we wish
them all success so that mankind is spared. But God forbid if the
ultimate moment reaches, should we become sitting ducks to the
atomic holocaust for no fault of ours? Should India surrender to the
Chinese nuclear blackmail on each and every occasion ? Should
not the Government of India take concrete measures to protect its
citizens ? The answers to all these questions are apparent. India
must be prepared to meet all the eventualities on the path of
dignified growth and development and for this it is essential that
India has a well defined strategic perspective for the twenty first
century.
Before we go into the details of the proposed strategic perspective,
the question arises if at all we can have a strategic perspective. The
problems of the so called resources constraints, the desirability of
investments in the weapon systems, the technological gap, the
social background of the nation, the reaction of other powers etc.
are some of the impediments in the strategic uprising of India on the
globe. The details of all these matters will be discussed. Here it is
sufficient to assert that all these seemingly monstrous problems are
no problems. All great nations have overcome similar problems
before being known as great nations and we will also do it.
The problems aside, not only we can have a global military
perspective, but also it is high time when we should have it. After
hundreds of years of subjugation we have achieved freedom at
great cost. As a natural derivative India should dominate the world
affairs in the twenty first century. But before that we must ensure
our existence as a truly sovereign state. The element of sovereignty
will become a crucial question in the twenty first century for the
newly independent countries like India which have been reduced to
the status of raw material suppliers as a result of centuries of
ruthless imperial exploitation.
