Following the usage of nuclear weapons by the United States on Japan in 1945, nuclear reactions came to the world stage as an incredibly important means both to produce power and to assure security. Thus, a number of countries found the desire to begin a local nuclear program. With the help of international organizations and initiatives spearheaded by the United States, countries all over the world found themselves with support to create their own nuclear programs through partnerships with different nuclear states.
This was a result of the United States recognizing the severity of its actions in Japan, in addition to a plan to prevent other countries from acquiring their own nuclear weapons. Realizing that the existence of nuclear weapons inevitably leads to arms racing and the risk of nuclear war, the United States and other nations made efforts to completely disarm the world of nuclear weapons. In the quest for nuclear disarmament, one concern is the connection between nuclear power and nuclear weapons.
A huge expanse of ruins is seen after the explosion of an atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945.
Many nations seek nuclear power capabilities, but the acquisition of nuclear technology can quickly lead to the development of a nuclear weapons program, which undermines the quest for disarmament. India is one such country that used its civilian nuclear power program to build nuclear weapons, but has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The text of the NPT can be found at
https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/text
One of India’s primary motivations to maintain a nuclear arsenal is to obtain and preserve a successful nuclear deterrence against neighborhood nuclear powers and long-term rivals, Pakistan and China.
As a world-recognized nuclear and economic power, China remains one of the primary threats to Indian border security and economic superiority in the Asian region. There have also been long-term border disputes along the India-Pakistan border. Ultimately, India developed its plutonium-based nuclear weapons program by utilizing its partnership with different countries to maximize its production capabilities, through extensive research and development that would have been otherwise time consuming or technically infeasible.
Were it not for the donated reactor technologies, reprocessing facilities, and technical training offered by other nuclear powers, India would not have been capable of quickly developing nuclear weapons, despite the political desire to do so.