India's bomb
Sir: We were disturbed by your justification for India's nuclear tests in terms of 'political and military national interest'. India's membership of the nuclear club continues a disturbing trend which began with Hiroshima. The Cold War showed that powers which possess nuclear weapons can still entangle themselves in conventional. warfare. Furthermore, the Cuban crisis illustrated the danger of indulging in brinkmanship which you are suggesting that India do with China over border disputes and, on a more contemporaneous note, nuclear weapons have not reduced friction on the Sino-Soviet border.
It is saddening therefore to see India's recent acquisitions cited as a symptom of Mrs Gandhi's emergence 'as a major stateswoman' and for you to equate 'the real world' with those nations possessing nuclear weapons. The problem is not merely one of national interests but of the continued existence of the human race.
It is only when attitudes such as your own concerning power politics undergo a radical reappraisal that nuclear power will be turned from the purposes of weaponry to the services of humanity. Surely the only sane response to India's peaceful facade and your justifications of this event must be one of deep concern.
W. Aitken, K. Taylor, G. Gladden University of Dundee, 2 Springfield, Dundee
Previous page
