Weapons of Mass Destruction: Options for India

From the Jacket:

Nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, or Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), present a serious danger in today's world. This pertinent and topical volume takes a hard-headed look at the threat that India could face from these weapons.

A great deal of literature exists on international regimes and their attempts to curb the proliferation of WMD. For a number of years the national effort seemed to be confined to relying solely on these international regimes to ensure the safety of the nation. This book is groundbreaking in that it concentrates more on the protection of society and the armed forces against both state and non-state actors armed with WMD, and less on the international regimes. Additionally, the book offers a detailed checklist for the formulation of a national strategy to protect the people of India from WMD agents, while suggesting a counter proliferation strategy. With contributions from leading analysis in the field, some of the important issues that are discussed here include:

• The danger that WMD pose to governments and to the populace at large.
• The actual threat of WMD and the scenarios that India needs to guard against.
• Whether India faces a greater WMD threat from state or non-state actors.
• The possible protective measures that can be undertaken to guard against these threats.
• The position that the Indian government needs to take in international for a while addressing international initiatives to prevent the use of WMD.

Unique in its content, among the strong points of this volume is the detailed description of efforts required to set up material and human resources to respond to such catastrophes. With its comprehensive converge of both practical and policy issues, it will attract the attention of scholars, defense strategists and serving personnel in the armed forces.

About the Author:

Rear Admiral Raja Menon retired in 1994 as Assistant chief of Naval Staff (Operations). He is visiting lecturer at all institutes of higher study of the Indian armed forces and was instrumental in organizing the first nuclear management course for Indian service officers.

Contributors

Arundhati Ghose o B.S. Malik o M.S. Mamik o Raja Menon o Pran Krishan Pahwa o Matin Zuberi

CONTENTS

Introduction Raja Menon		7
Part I - Theory of Effectiveness
1.	The Nuclear Dimension Pran Krishan Pahwa	21
2.	The Effectiveness of Chemical Agents B.S. Malik	30
3.	The Effectiveness of Biological Agents Raja Menon	47
Part II - Threats to India
4.	Formal and Non-formal Nuclear Threats M.S. Mamik	63
Part III - Current International Regimes
5.	The Nuclear Non-proliferation Regime Matin Zuberi	79
6.	The Chemical and Biological Weapons Regimes Arundhati Ghose	110
Part IV - India's Negotiating Positions
7.	The Nuclear Non-proliferation Regime in Crisis Matin Zuberi	129
8.	Trends in the CWC and BTWC: Implications and Options for India's Security Interests Arundhati Ghose	198
Part V - India's Options
9.	Protection against Chemical Agents B.S. Malik	223
Part IV - India's Negotiating Positions
10.	Protection against Biological and Toxin Warfare Raja Menon	247
About the Editor and Contributors		267
Index		270

Sample Pages