India on Monday acquired a nuclear submarine from Russia and became the sixth country in the world to have such capability. The new war toy has been taken on lease for a period of 10 years which will cost India $1 billion. What is still more alarming is that according to reports India is in talk with Russia for getting another nuclear submarine on lease.
The repercussions of this step are a foregone conclusion. It will kick off a nuclear-submarine arms race in the region, raising fears of a nuclear war. The pity is that the billions of dollars that would be diverted to the armament programme would be at the cost of better living conditions of the India’s poor numbering hundreds of millions. Given the history of Indo-Pak hostility it is obvious that we cannot afford to play possum in the face of New Delhi’s craving for such lethal weapons. The memory of its detonations of nuclear bombs in 1998 and subsequent overt threats of invasion still leap to mind. Under the circumstances we too would have to maintain a minimum credible deterrence but extreme caution must be exercised against falling into the arms race. And given this weapons buying spree, who will disagree that India is not a war crazed nation, infatuated with the dream of decimating its eastern neighbour. It must also be mentioned that the nuclear submarine is not armed with long range missiles which indicates that the countries in the region specifically Pakistan is most vulnerable to its attack.
These subs would give India an edge in stealth warfare since a nuclear submarine unlike ordinary ones can remain submerged for a long period of time. However, at the same time this shows the native cunning of the Indians in that they have been able to manage successful military ties with both US and Russia without compromising on the loyalty accorded to any one of these countries. From the US the Indians managed to ink a civil nuclear deal, but without antagonising the Russians. India’s weapons programme however in the days to come would become a crippling disadvantage for its economy. The country must also be held responsible for vitiating the atmosphere of South Asia by resorting to such blatant armament rather than resolution of outstanding conflicts.