ABSTRACT
India was set on the road to modern science and technology, especially in the nuclear field, long before it achieved independence in 1947, and largely because of the personality of one man. India’s early nuclear capacity has generally been ignored in popular discussions of the subsequent Indian stand on questions of international nuclear safeguards. The Chinese attack on Indian border outposts in 1962 took him by surprise, and China’s first nuclear test in October 1964 took place when India was nowhere near meaningful weapon capability. The proponents of the bomb appeared to have scored over its opponents in persuading the Indian government to preserve at least its freedom of manoeuvre. The conjunction of United States military aid and Pakistan’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapon capability with China’s assistance have come to be seen by India as a grave long-term threat to its security.
