Abstract:
The main theme of this thesis is to study India's implementation of nuclear weapons policy. Using the concept of realism and strategic studies as framework of analysis, the thesis analyses factors affecting India's policy toward nuclear disarmament and the development of its own nuclear capabilities. This research finds that India's nuclear tests in May 1998 and its declaration to be a nuclear power, which had never occurred before in the history of India, had their immediate origins in its longstanding concerns over national security in relation to China and Pakistan and their military alliance relationship. However, the key underlying reasons for the acquisition of nuclear capabilities are the enduring and deep-rooted aspiration of India itself for the role of a major power, and the related belief that the possession of an independent nuclear capability is an essential prerequisite for achieving that status