India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation Updated Edition with a New Afterword

In May 1998, India shocked the world--and many of its own citizens--by detonating five nuclear weapons in the Rajasthan desert. Why did India bid for nuclear weapon status at a time when 149 nations had signed a ban on nuclear testing? What drove India's new Hindu nationalist government to depart from decades of nuclear restraint, a control that no other nation with similar capacities had displayed? How has U.S. nonproliferation policy affected India's decision making? India's Nuclear Bomb is the definitive, comprehensive history of how the world's largest democracy, has grappled with the twin desires to have and to renounce the bomb. Each chapter contains significant historical revelations drawn from scores of interviews with India's key scientists, military leaders, diplomats and politicians, and from declassified U.S. government documents and interviews with U.S. officials. Perkovich teases out the cultural and ethical concerns and vestiges of colonialism that underlie India's seemingly paradoxical stance. India's nuclear history challenges leading theories of why nations pursue and hang onto nuclear weapons, raising important questions for international relations theory and security studies. So, too, the blasts in Rajasthan have shaken the foundations of the international nonproliferation system. With the end of the Cold War and an even more chaotic international scene, Perkovich's analysis of an alternative model is timely, sobering, and vital. Annotation In May 1998, India shocked the world--and many of its own citizens--by detonating five nuclear weapons in the Rajasthan desert. Why did India bid for nuclear weapon status at a time when 149 nations had signed a ban on nuclear testing? What drove India's new Hindu nationalist government to depart from decades of nuclear restraint, a control that no other nation with similar capacities had displayed? How has U.S. nonproliferation policy affected India's decision making?India's Nuclear Bombis the definitive, comprehensive history of how the world's largest democracy, has grappled with the twin desires to have and to renounce the bomb. Each chapter contains significant historical revelations drawn from scores of interviews with India's key scientists, military leaders, diplomats and politicians, and from declassified U.S. government documents and interviews with U.S. officials. Perkovich teases out the cultural and ethical concerns and vestiges of colonialism that underlie India's seemingly paradoxical stance. India's nuclear history challenges leading theories of why nations pursue and hang onto nuclear weapons, raising important questions for international relations theory and security studies. So, too, the blasts in Rajasthan have shaken the foundations of the international nonproliferation system. With the end of the Cold War and an even more chaotic international scene, Perkovich's analysis of an alternative model is timely, sobering, and vital Frontmatter ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (page xi) Introduction (page 1) ONE Developing the Technological Base for the Nuclear Option 1948-1963 (page 13) TWO The First Compromise Shift toward a "Peaceful Nuclear Explosive" 1964 (page 60) THREE The Search for Help Abroad and the Emergence of Nonproliferation DECEMBER 1964-AUGUST 1965 (page 86) FOUR War and Leadership Transitions at Home AUGUST 1965-MAY 1966 (page 106) FIVE The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Secretly Renewed Work on a Nuclear Explosive 1966-1968 (page 125) SIX Political Tumult and Inattention to the Nuclear Program 1969-1971 (page 146) SEVEN India Explodes a "Peaceful" Nuclear Device 1971-1974 (page 161) EIGHT The Nuclear Program Stalls 1975-1980 (page 190) NINE More Robust Nuclear Policy Is Considered 1980-1984 (page 226) TEN Nuclear Capabilities Grow and Policy Ambivalence Remains NOVEMBER 1984-DECEMBER 1987 (page 261) ELEVEN The Nuclear Threat Grows Amid Political Uncertainty 1988-1990 (page 293) TWELVE American Nonproliferation Initiatives Flounder 1991-1994 (page 318) THIRTEEN India Verges on Nuclear Tests 1995-MAY 1996" (page 353) FOURTEEN India Rejects the CTBT JUNE 1996-DECEMBER 1997 (page 378) FIFTEEN The Bombs That Roared 1998 (page 404) Conclusion: Exploded Illusions of the Nuclear Age (page 444) APPENDIX India's Nuclear Infrastructure (page 469) NOTES (page 473) INDEX (page 583) Publisher Fact Sheet The Definitive History Of India's Long Flirtation With Nuclear Capability, Culminating In The Nuclear Tests That Surprised The World In May 1998. Developing The Technological Base For The Nuclear Option 1948-1963 -- The First Compromise Shift Toward A Peaceful Nuclear Explosive 1964 -- The Search For Help Abroad And The Emergence Of Nonproliferation December 1964-august 1965 -- War And Leadership Transitions At Home August 1965-may 1966 -- The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty And Secretly Renewed Work On A Nuclear Explosive 1966-1968 -- Political Tumult And Inattention To The Nuclear Program 1969-1971 -- India Explodes A Peaceful Nuclear Device 1971-1974 -- The Nuclear Program Stalls 1975-1980 -- More Robust Nuclear Policy Is Considered 1980-1984 -- Nuclear Capabilities Grow And Policy Ambivalence Remains November 1984-december 1987 -- The Nuclear Threat Grows Amid Political Uncertainty 1988-1990 -- American Nonproliferation Initiatives Flounder 1991-1994 -- India Verges On Nuclear Tests 1995-may 1996 -- India Rejects The Ctbt June 1996-december 1997 -- The Bombs That Roared 1998 -- Conclusion: Exploded Illusions Of The Nuclear Age -- India's Nuclear Infrastructure. George Perkovich. A Philip E. Lilienthal Book. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 473-582) And Index. "India's Nuclear Bomb is the definitive, comprehensive history of how the world's largest democracy, the nation of Gandhi, has grappled with the twin desires to have and to renounce the bomb. Each chapter contains significant historical revelations drawn from scores of interviews with India's key scientists, military leaders, diplomats, and politicians, and from declassified U.S. government documents and interviews with U.S. officials. George Perkovich teases out the cultural and ethical concerns and vestiges of colonialism that underlie India's seemingly paradoxical stance. India's changing view of itself has as much, or more, to do with its nuclear policy as any threat from outside its borders."--BOOK JACKET. Perkovich (W. Alton Jones Foundation) painstakingly describes the evolution of India's nuclear arsenal from 1947 to 1998. The stockpile resulted not from military need but rather from the efforts of India's scientific community and an extremely small number of politicians. Opposition groups, including several prime ministers, lambasted the diversion of funds from education, health, sanitation, and welfare programs to building bombs. Perkovich interweaves the complex relationships among India, the United States, Pakistan, and China regarding nuclear bombs, pointing out that none remained steadfast to principles. The work concludes with sets of principles that are then applied to other nuclear programs Traces India's nuclear weapons program, discusses why they developed a nuclear capability, and examines implications for the future of arms limitations