Question

what are the two themes of india's nuclear doctrine​

Answer 1

The basic principle of India's nuclear doctrine is "No First Use". According to this policy, nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on the Indian Territory or on Indian forces anywhere. 2. India needs to build and maintain a Credible Minimum Deterrent.

Answer 2

Answer:

This piece is part of a compilation bringing together Regional Voices on the Challenges of Nuclear Deterrence Stability in Southern Asia.

INTRODUCTION

Rajesh Rajagopalan

Rajesh Rajagopalan is a professor at the Center for International Politics, Organization, and Disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

India’s nuclear doctrine is an important variable determining nuclear stability in South Asia, especially because the doctrine is generally considered to be restrained. So any indication of change in the doctrine is a cause for concern. Such an indication of change happened most recently in 2014, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its election manifesto, in which it promised to “revise and update” India’s nuclear doctrine to “make it relevant to challenges of current time.”1 This led to some speculation that a key element of India’s nuclear doctrine, India’s no-first-use commitment (NFU) for nuclear weapons, might be altered.2 Though the BJP leaders quickly denied that the NFU policy would be altered, this episode indicated the continuing discomfort among sections of the Indian strategic elite about India’s NFU pledge.3 This essay surveys the debate over India’s nuclear doctrine for signs of any imminent changes. It suggests that though there continue to be significant disagreements within the Indian strategic community about many elements of nuclear doctrine, the debate has stagnated, and no longer produces new ideas about how to deal with the most pressing dilemma that New Delhi faces: countering Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs). India might need to shift its massive retaliation nuclear strategy to some form of modulated retaliation to deal with this challenge