ShodhPatra: International Journal of Science and Humanities

India’s Doctrine of ‘No First Use of Nuclear Weapons’: Analysis of the Commitment and its Credibility

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government of India adopted ‘no first use’ (NFU) doctrine when the country publicly conducted its first nuclear weapons test at Pokhran in 1998 and became a Nuclear Weapon State (NWS). This article demonstrates that the doctrine has served its expected purpose in the following years. That same year Pakistan also conducted nuclear weapons test following that of India. India described the 1974 test as a peaceful nuclear explosion. There is still some anxiety in India about the wisdom of this no first use of nuclear weapons doctrine. A section of scholars and strategists believe that India could have adopted the option of using its nuclear weapons first whenever the nation’s defense requires it. The primary objective of India’s nuclear weapons is to deter the use and threat of use of nuclear weapons against India. Taking into account India’s hostility with Pakistan and China and India’s quest for an independent foreign policy, this article examines the credibility of the nuclear doctrine of India as a deterrence of war. The article also explores the strategic aspects of India’s advocacy for global nuclear disarmament. Keywords: India, nuclear weapons, foreign policy, credibility, deterrence, strategic, disarmament