India's nuclear policy / Bharat Karnad ; foreword by Stephen P. Cohen.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [159]-208) and index.

1. New attractions of the bomb : the nuclearized twenty-first century world -- 2. Laying the foundation : India's nuclear and missile capabilities and minimum deterrence concept, 1947-1998 -- 3. Maturing nuclear and missile capabilities and credible minimum deterrence strategy, post-1998 -- 4. Southern Asia : limited war, potential nuclear crises, Indian-U.S. nuclear deal.

"This book examines Indian nuclear policy, doctrine, strategy, and posture, clarifying the elastic concept of "credible minimum deterrence" at the center of the country's approach to nuclear security. This concept, Karnad demonstrates, permits the Indian nuclear forces to be beefed up, size and quality-wise, and to acquire strategic reach and clout, even as the qualifier "minimum" suggests an overarching concern for moderation and economical use of resources and strengthens India's claims to be a "responsible" nuclear weapon state." "Based on interviews with Indian political leaders, nuclear scientists, and military and civilian nuclear policy planners, the book provides unique insights into the workings of India's nuclear decision-making and deterrence system. It refutes the alarmist notions about a "nuclear flashpoint" in South Asia, which derive from stereotyped analysis of India-Pakistan "wars," and it examines India's likely conflict scenarios involving China and Pakistan."--BOOK JACKET.