Author : Aakarsh Kamra
Is the United States the genitor of all problems the world faces today? Is a question that one is forced to ask time and again? Be it the Taliban, the destruction of Iraq, the September 11 attacks and the nuclear proliferation. Nuclear proliferation can be traced back to 1945, when for the first time in history a nation tested its weapons on another nation causing enormous destruction and loss of human life. After the United States (1945), Russia (1949), United Kingdom (1952), France (1960), China (1964) and now India (1974&1998) and Pakistan (1998), have all been part of the nuclear arms race.
Since the 1950s an attempt was being made at the international level to address the threat of nuclear proliferation. In the late 60s the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty was prepared. Till date 189 states are a party to the NPT, with five states having Nuclear weapons recognized as Nuclear Weapon States under the treaty. India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea are yet to sign the treaty. The basis behind this treaty was to ensure non proliferation, Disarmament and peaceful use of Nuclear Technology. In the year 1996, another treaty known as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was adopted by the UN General Assembly.