The destruction of weapons, especially nuclear weapons, is called disarmament. In human history, the first use of nuclear weapons in warfare was the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan by the USA.
The damages caused by the bombs made the world aware of the terrible effects of a nuclear war. The UN recognised disarmament as a means for maintaining world peace and security. However, the world today has nuclear weapons powerful enough to destroy all life on earth.
The making of sophisticated weapons involves enormous expenditures on research, materials, storage, maintenance of equipment, employment of personnel, and so on. Disarmament can greatly reduce such expenditures. The money can then be spent on tackling global problems like overpopulation, hunger, poverty, illiteracy, disease and pollution.
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India has repeatedly called for the complete destruction of nuclear weapons and a complete ban on the testing of such weapons by all countries of the world. India was the first country to call UN attention to the need for using atomic energy for peaceful purposes only.
India has actively participated in efforts to establish a nuclear-weapon-free and nonviolent world order. To ensure its own security, India has acquired the ability to make nuclear weapons. However, India has placed its nuclear arsenal under civilian control and has declared that
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i. It will not join the nuclear arms race (competition among nations to acquire more nuclear weapons),
ii. It will not use nuclear arms against a non-nuclear state, and
iii. It will follow the principle of ‘no first use of nuclear arms against any state’.
