India, which had played a pivotal role in nuclear disarmament campaign, must join the initiative of reviving the movement avoiding the logic of deterrence, Chinmaya R Gharekhan, India's Special Envoy for West Asia and the Middle East Peace Process, said on Thursday.
"We must revive the movement that describes nuclear weapons as crimes against humanity. We must avoid the logic of deterrence," Gharekhan said.
India's credibility for initiating such a campaign will now be particularly high as it itself had become a nuclear weapon power, he said, speaking at a seminar on Japanese peace activist Dr Daisaku Ikeda's 2007 peace proposal titled, 'Restoring the Human Connection: The First Step to Global Peace.'
"If we were to initiate a campaign globally, and say yes, we are ready for disarmament, provided others do so, then the world will listen," he said, referring to Dr Daisaku Ikeda's 2007 peace proposal to the United Nations.
Speaking at the occasion, Osama Musa, Palestine Ambassador to India, said unless the wheels of the arms industry were brought to a halt, peace talks would never prove to be effective.
"The arms industry produces arms and these must be used. But we can't eat or drink them! So, how can we hope to bring about peace while these weapons are everywhere? Peace cannot be created by talking," he said.
Vibha Parthasarathi, former chairperson, National Commission for Women, said children should be educated from the very beginning about the virtues of pace.
"Peace has to begin with children. One's mind is shaped in one's childhood. So, as parents we must examine how our own children's minds and hearts are being impacted," she said.
