The Hindu : Other States / Rajasthan News : Doctrine of deterrence a myth, says ex-Navy chief

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 26, 2004

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Doctrine of deterrence a myth, says ex-Navy chief

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, NOV. 25 . Anti-war, anti-nuke and peace activists from all over the country and abroad have gathered here to participate in the second national convention of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) beginning tomorrow. The convention will take stock of the current scenario in South Asia as a "nuclear hotspot'' and evolve a strategy to fight the menace of nuclear weapons.

The activists would deliberate on calling for a global campaign for complete abolition of all nuclear weapons from the face of earth by 2020. Nearer home, they will call upon the Governments of India and Pakistan to ensure immediate halt and eventual reversal of nuclear weaponisation programmes in the region.

The former Navy chief, L. Ramdas -- who will inaugurate the three-day event -- said at an interaction with mediapersons here today that the doctrine of deterrence put forward to legitimise the possession of nuclear weapons was a myth that would heighten the danger of war and nuclear exchange in South Asia. "The nuclear weaponisation programme is politically counter-productive, economically disastrous, militarily inefficient and ethically and morally indefensible,'' said Admiral Ramdas. He said that an accidental mistake could create havoc in the region as the technology was prone to failure.

Karamat Ali, a Karachi-based activist, said an agreement on evolving South Asia as a nuclear-free zone and a no-war pact between India and Pakistan were the need of the hour in addition to the confidence building measures launched by the two countries. He said the efforts on these fronts should be made along with the move to declare South Asia as a free trade zone.

The noted economist and a member of the National Advisory Council, Jean Dreze, pointed out that as against the defence outlay of Rs. 77,000 crores this year, the large-scale death of children due to malnutrition and diseases could be prevented by an expenditure of Rs. 3,000 crores and the employment guarantee scheme launched successfully. He said the nation was paying a heavy price of nuclear race in the shape of hunger and deaths and regretted the "rational and responsible use'' of nuclear weapons was being paraded as a credible doctrine.

Activist Achin Vanaik alleged that the Department of Atomic Energy had paid scant attention to accountability, safety and transparency in its operations. He said the world had come to the brink of a nuclear exchange several times since the nuclear age began in 1945, while pointing out that the configuration in India and Pakistan had left much room for miscalculation.

The nuclear-free future awards-2004 will be presented by the Sarvodaya leader, Siddharaj Dhaddha, to three individuals, a Lucknow-based school and an organisation in Jharkhand at the end of the convention and a Jaipur declaration will be released with a call to end the nuclear race in various regions of the world. Other related issues to be taken up during the convention are the elimination of biological and chemical weapons, banning of land mines, "nuclear nationalism'' driven by the politics of hatred and paranoia, and the ideology of aggression being disseminated in the fields of education and culture.

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Doctrine of deterrence a myth, says ex-Navy chief