Nuclear Arms Are ‘Weapons of Peace’: Kakodkar

Former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodar has described nuclear weapons as ‘weapons of peace’ which, he went on to say, act as a deterrent, said media reports.

Speaking at a function yesterday, he said that sanctions were imposed on India by many countries when it conducted nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998 but for ‘us it became a real opportunity and our research and development today has reached a robust level’ in some of the technologies, said reports.

“The philosophical aspect of nuclear weapons can be peaceful and they act as a deterrent. So, I call them weapons of peace,” he was quoted as saying.

He made the statement while responding to queries posed by eminent science writer Bal Phondke and Dr A P Thatte, President of Vijnan Bharati, an NGO dedicated to science.

He said that Pokhran II in 1998 was ‘a technological and management challenge for me as a director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and it was a difficult period for my family as well as my office’, said reports.

In response to a query about spend fuel, Kakodkar was quoted as saying: “Spent fuel is reprocessed and reused because then they become environment-friendly.”