If you want peace be prepared for war. That is the sadistic axiom we have been hearing since a long time. To some, it may appear as contradiction in terms. But that is the harsh truth of the history of mankind. Even Gandhi ji said that non-violence does not mean submitting to injustice. That may be the ethical interpretation of use of justifiable force. The struggle for survival has always guided man in shaping his destiny. We are often asked a provocative question like what was the need for our country to manufacture a nuclear device when we cannot put it to use owing to its potential for mass destruction? The US dropped atom bomb on Hiroshima only when it stood thousands of miles away from the scene of action and had no threat of radiation reaching it. In our case, we have boundaries touching on many countries on three sides. We are strategically located and as such our priorities are of a different kind.
We do not discount a debate of this kind on the subject of nuclear defence. But the reality is that mankind has gone through the long process of evolution after fighting and decimating the adversary. The sum total of defence and offence in modern times has been to shoot at the enemy without getting involved in physical contact with him. It is said that future wars will be the wars of missiles shot from thousands of miles away but striking at the target with incredible accuracy. American drone attacks on Taliban hideouts in NWFP of Pakistan is a good example to understand the potentiality of superior power and its destructive capability. The argument of nuclear countries is that it serves as a deterrent, which in turn, can bring sustainable peace in the world. Shifting to missile and then ballistic missile generation of defence has carried on this concept further.
We joined the world nuclear club decades ago. China and Pakistan, our contiguous neighbours on the East and the West, are not friendly to us. Both of them have territorial designs against us. We need to protect our borders from any perfidious act of our adversary because we have to assert as a sovereign country. That necessitated our country going nuclear, and that again prompts us to create shield against ballistic missiles, the missiles capable of carrying nuclear device to a long distance. A report coming from the DRDO Chief discloses that our country has taken big strides towards providing defence shield against ballistic missile attacks. This part of defence strategy and intercepting enemy’s missiles has two phases. In Phase I, our scientists and technocrats have created a protective shield against a missile fired from a distance of 2,000 miles. Obviously the capital city of New Delhi comes under this shield in the first instance. In Phase II, DRDO contemplates creating ABM shield against a nuclear missile fired from a distance of 5,000 miles.
This is a remarkable achievement of our scientists and technocrats and they deserve all appreciation. India is a rising power in Asia. She is still in the process of making, and a day will not be far away when she will be among the world powers. As such, in terms of defence preparedness, she has to match the powerful countries around her. It has to be reiterated again that development of India’s nuclear capability or anti-ballistic missile shield are not meant to fulfill any aggressive designs against any country. It is purely a mechanism of self-defence to which we are entitled in as much as any other country of the globe. We cannot remain complacent with the philosophy of non-violence once our adversaries do occasional sword rattling to cow us down. India stands for peace but is prepared to defend herself in whatever way she can to protect her age-old heritage of spiritual and moral values. Therefore, while extending hearty congratulations to our scientists and technocrats at DRDO for engaging themselves very profitably in the service of the nation, we hope they will develop our defence strategy further by making new inventions. Given the requisite facilities of work culture, our scientists are capable of making the country proud for more achievements. A message of peace delivered from a position of power is more effective than a message of violence delivered from a position of weakness. But with great achievements in modernization of her defence preparedness, India should never lose sight of the fact that she is respected in the comity of nations essentially for her adherence to moral and ethical values in international relations.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel