ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the trajectory and rationales that have underpinned India's emergence as a de facto nuclear state within the international system. India has acquired this status by often explicitly refusing to accept the perspectives of the five recognized nuclear powers, and most pertinently has attained nuclear capabilities by acting outside international proliferation regimes and controls. The chapter outlines the historical trajectory of India's nuclear development – including its technological, energy and weaponization aspects – from independence in 1947 to the present era. It analyses three core rationales that have guided this development, namely, technological development and self-sufficiency; a pro-disarmament stance; and countering existential threats and great power aspiration. The chapter analyses how this trajectory and these rationales have informed and influenced India's nuclear posture. It ends with some thoughts as to the future of India's nuclear programme, the tensions inherent in it and the programme's continued importance within India's international relations.
