ABSTRACT
CBRN is at best, an obscure acronym with knowledge limited to a few Scientists, Armed Forces and Disaster Managers in the entire country today. The spectre of gross ignorance of the subject among the masses in general, and the administrative authorities in particular, presents a dreadful scenario of too little too late.
It is not the case that technological disasters have not been witnessed. We have all been witness to such disasters in the past. They have been occurring with ever increasing frequency with greater ferocity; a fact, we can ignore at our own perils.
However, unfortunately the complacent world in general and the country in particular, subsist in a blissful ignorance and consequent apathy to a perpetual sword dangling over us.
The country has borne an industrial disaster of scale, nowhere seen in the world but still the inherent optimism bias lulls our anxieties on this count and results in the all-pervasive unpreparedness. It is true for the countries world over but the history has been harsher to our fellow countrymen than anywhere else.
The culpability can be shared by the administrative authorities and the scientific community in equal measures. But all said and done, there is no denying the fact that the morass we find ourselves in, is due to the rampant ignorance and the resultant apathy that has assumed a cyclical challenge. We are not prepared because we are ignorant and since weare not preparing, the ignorance refuses to go away.
This ignorance of the hazard and vulnerability has led us to a state where we are least prepared for a mishap or large-scale incident/ accident even as we are proceeding ahead with the chemical and nuclear technologies in our industries, leave alone the devious neighbourhood stockpiling the weapons of mass destruction.
CBRN threats, both accidental and intentional, looms large over global as well as at national. levels. The non-state actors have been increasingly using innovative techniques to spread the divisive politics and creating a terrorized scenario. It is a well-known fact that in the past terrorist groups have tried to access and, in some cases, used the chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) means to spread terror. They evidently prefer more destructive and spectacular methods.
CBRN security in India is still in its nascent stages. There is a need to look at it from a broader perspective of internal and regional security challenges that manifest in the form of CBRN terrorism, among others.
The paper assesses various aspects pertaining to Indian CBRN framework, vulnerabilities etc. The methodology used for completing the paper is, content analysis of existing literature, UNISDR, UNDRR, NDMA, N1DM reports and national/ international open-source material accessed from public domain. The paper is intended to contribute to CBRN Disaster Management as it focuses on role of training, technology, education and knowledge and attain the means of participatory approach for accomplishing CBRN Disaster Resilient Set-up.
