On 16 August, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hinted that India might abandon its no-first-use policy: ‘Till today, our nuclear policy is “no first use”. What happens in future depends on the circumstances.’ Singh was speaking …
Articles by: "Ramesh Thakur"
There are three sets of reasons for a palpable rise in nuclear anxieties around the world: growing nuclear arsenals and expanding roles for nuclear weapons, a crumbling arms-control architecture, and irresponsible statements from the leaders …
India’s decision last month to revoke Kashmir’s autonomy and statehood, break it into two union territories and merge them fully with the Indian union caught everyone unawares. The changes give effect to the Bharatiya Janata …
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has decided to strip Kashmir of its special status—which granted considerable autonomy to the disputed Muslim-majority territory—and split it into two union territories (a status below that of states) …
We are in a uniquely dangerous period in the atomic age. Geopolitical tensions have spiked in Europe, in the Middle East, on the subcontinent and in East Asia. The nuclear arms control architecture is fraying …
US President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy gives the impression that he ventures abroad not in search of monsters to slay, but as a bull carrying a china shop on his back. He has …
In April, US President Donald Trump directed White House officials to identify pathways to new arms control agreements with Russia and China. If he’s looking for a big and bold new idea, here’s one: a …
The danger of a nuclear war, with catastrophic consequences for life as we know it, may be higher today than it was during the Cold War. The world got a sharp reminder of the threat …
In the military clashes between India and Pakistan in February, the international press was fixated on the ‘military gossip’ of casualties: who shot down how many planes and who won the battle of global media …
The suicide bombing of a paramilitary convoy in Pulwama, Kashmir, two weeks ago killed 44 soldiers and spurred a series of events that threatens to spiral into a full-blown conflict between India and Pakistan. In …
There are substantially fewer nuclear weapons today than at the height of the Cold War. Yet the overall risks of nuclear war—by design, accident, rogue launch or system error—have grown in the second nuclear age. …
In his annual New Year’s address, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is committed to denuclearisation but will change course if the US persists with ‘sanctions and pressures’. The statement confirmed that all steps …