India and the Bomb

IN the national debate on defence policy, sparked off by the Chinese Bomb explosion, alternative policies which are feasible in the situation that has arisen must be argued out more clearly than has been done so far, so that the nation may make its final judgement on the issue with full knowledge of the implications of every feasible policy. In this paper I shall attempt to spell out and examine three major alternative policies which are being proposed by different sections of public opinion: viz. (i) the present policy, (ii) the policy of alignment and (iii) the acquisition of an 'independent deterrent'; and indicate a fourth course that I would myself prefer.