May 18, 1974 is a landmark date in the history of India. On that date India conducted its first atomic test. The Indian atomic test was a strategic and political response to the Chinese test explosion conducted at Lop Nor in 1964. These two atomic tests were separated by ten years.
Unfortunately for India, Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) did come into force only during this critical decade. It entered into force on March 5, 1970. The treaty was initially signed on July 1, 1968 by the USA, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. It was kept open for signatures by other countries. Almost all the major countries of the world have acceded to it except India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. India and Pakistan do not make secret of their having nuclear weapons. Israel has a deliberate policy of being non-committal about its nuclear program. North Korea’s case is peculiar. It had signed the treaty, violated it by pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Later on, it withdrew from the treaty on April 10, 2003. It made North Korea the only country to ever withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The NPT does not outlaw the vertical proliferation of the nuclear weapons. That means it does not restrict fresh upgradation or development of their nuclear arsenal if you are a nuclear weapon State. However, if you are a non-nuclear weapon State you can neither receive from anybody nor manufacture any nuclear weapon. If the non-nuclear weapon States plan to produce a nuclear device entirely for peaceful purpose like generating power, they are allowed to do so under the treaty. But in that case they are bound by active supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In short, the NPT has created a system of nuclear haves and nuclear have-nots. Haves can do all nuclear activities, military and peaceful. Have-nots can indulge only in peaceful nuclear activities, but under strict IAEA supervision and control.
India is a billion plus country like China. It has a long unsettled border dispute with the latter since Indo-Chinese war in 1962. China has a huge nuclear arsenal. Pakistan too is believed to have considerable inventory of nuclear weapons. Pakistan has fought four wars with India. India finds itself surrounded by the two nuclear-armed countries. How can international community take exception to India’s right to have a nuclear deterrent against potential threats to its security?
India has a track record of not transferring any nuclear material, technology or relevant information to any country. It has behaved with great responsibility as though it were a nuclear- weapon State within the meaning of NPT. Also India has a declared policy of no first use of its nuclear weapons. Amongst the nuclear-weapon States China is the only country having the no first use policy in respect of its nuclear weapons.
India has consistently resisted attempts to persuade or coerce it into signing the NPT. The recent Indo-American Nuclear Deal, which was approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and endorsed by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, recognizes implicitly that India is a de facto nuclear- weapon State. The Deal clearly recognizes India’s right to continue working its dedicated nuclear establishments for exclusive military purposes.
Article IX (3) of NPT creates a roadblock for India should it consider acceding to NPT. Under this Article a nuclear-weapon State is defined to be “one which has manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967”. India tested its nuclear device in 1974 and therefore it is not a nuclear weapon State within the meaning of the NPT.
The international non-proliferation regime will be strengthened if India accedes to NPT. India can join it only if the cutoff date 1 January 1967 in the NPT is changed to a date prior to 18 May 1974. If there is a political will on the part of the nuclear-weapons States and other important members of international community, it can easily be done by amending the Article IX (3) of the treaty by substituting the cut-off date to be 1 January 1975 in place of 1 January 1967, under the procedure provided for in the Article VIII of the treaty.
According to the provisions of the Article VIII of the treaty an amendment “must be approved by a majority of the votes of all the Parties to the Treaty, including the votes of all nuclear-weapon States Party to the Treaty and all other Parties which, on the date the amendment is circulated, are members of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency......"
If the NPT is amended to change the cutoff date to accommodate India, it will remove a political anomaly and formalize a de facto situation into a de jure one. It will not affect the strategic balance of power in the world. It will give a more respectable face to the non-proliferation regime.
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