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Reject nuclear doctrine: expert

The controversial draft Indian nuclear doctrine threatens the survival of the South Asian population, according to noted nuclear scientist M V Ramana.

''The calls for punitive retaliation and the use of sufficient nuclear weapons (in the doctrine) would, if implemented, lead to largescale destruction and deaths among civilians,'' says Dr Ramana.

Dr Ramana has studied the effects of nuclear explosions, the history of the Indian nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, the environmental effects of nuclear weapons testing and global nuclear disarmament issues. He has also held research appointments in the United States and Canada after getting his Ph D in physics from Boston University.

No disaster control system is capable of handling the aftermath of a nuclear war, according to the expert who briefed the media yesterday before giving a lecture organised by the Movement in India for Nuclear Disarmament.

There are a number of reasons why an explosion over a South Asian city would be much more disastrous than the weapons dropped by the US over Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War.

These include larger population densities and the presence of several petrol pumps and industries in the cities. While the petrol stations would explode, damage to industries dealing in chemicals would result in the emission of toxic gases as in the case of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, he said.

Rejecting the theory of having nuclear weapons as a deterrent, he said the Kargil crisis has demonstrated that such steps do not prevent a war.

UNI

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