the nuclear age
The recent India and Pakistan nuclear tests brought nuclear proliferation and the terrible threat of nuclear war back to the world’s center stage (Bidwai 157). India's first endeavor at research into the nuclear field began in 1948 when they established an Atomic Energy Commission for exploring the potential of uranium ore (Mirchandani 4). In 1953 Eisenhower began a Atoms for Peace program which would offer access to nuclear technology with the understanding that it was to be used for civilian use and not for weaponry of mass destruction, however this led to the training of Indian scientists by the United States in 1959. In 1966 India declared that it would be capable of producing nuclear weapons within a year. Similar events were unfolding in Pakistan at the same time as both countries moved towards the apparently inevitable (4). On Monday May 8, 1998 at 6:15 a.m. India became the first nation in years to detonate a nuclear weapon. Scientists exploded three nuclear devices 328 feet underground. The three devices were composed of a fission device, a low-yield device, and a thermonuclear device; according to Atal Behari Vajpayee, the prime minister, the devices went off as planned, releasing no radioactivity
President Clinton threatened to punish India for their acts and also asked India's neighbors to refrain from mimicking India's actions. Pakistan, however, vowed to match India's aggressive move each step of the way. Pakistan's foreign minister, Gohar Ayub Khan, “declared that they would catch up” in a rapid arms race that stunned the world (94). Mirchandani, D.D. India’s Nuclear Dilemma. New York: Humanities Press INC. 1978. into the air (Bidwai 4). These tests were conducted in Pokhran, which is an uninhabited area 63 miles from the Pakistan border in the desert state of Rajasthan. Five days later on May 13 India conducted more tests and detonated two more nuclear devises in the remote desert (45). Apparently both sides toned down their rhetoric the last weekend in May but the tension is still exceedingly high and new hostilities could erupt at any time. It has been reported that India's Hindu nationalist government believes that the Pakistani are involved in a war of sorts in the province of Kashmir (23). It is also believed that there are Muslim guerrillas there, which were recruited from Afghanistan. And on the Indian side it is reported that on May 18, 1998 a top level meeting took place whereby the India officials decided that New Delhi should now take an active role and they then ordered the India Army to become involved by moving equipment into the area (23).
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Approximate Word count = 1163
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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