[For Favour of Publication]

Summary

This single-page press statement, issued from Rajkot on November 2, 1964, reports M. R. Masani’s response to Communist China’s atomic test and the political changes in the Soviet Union. It presents India with two alternatives: develop an independent nuclear force or rely on protection from the United States. Masani rejects an Indian nuclear buildup, arguing that India could not achieve a deterrent superior to China’s without diverting resources from agriculture and industry and worsening domestic economic and political instability.

Masani therefore advocates reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella, coupled with continued development of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. He argues that U.S. protection should deter a Chinese attack rather than merely promise retaliation, and calls for India and other free Asian countries to develop a mutual-security understanding with the United States. The statement also warns that changing Soviet leadership and the possible restoration of a Moscow–Peking axis make dependence on Soviet military assistance particularly risky.

Key points

• The statement frames Communist China’s nuclear test and Khrushchev’s fall as requiring an Indian strategic reassessment.
• It identifies an independent Indian nuclear force and reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella as the two available options.
• Masani opposes joining the nuclear arms race because India could not readily achieve superiority over China.
• A nuclear weapons programme would, in his view, divert resources from agriculture and industry and threaten economic and political stability.
• The statement distinguishes peaceful atomic-energy development from the manufacture and stockpiling of nuclear weapons.
• Masani argues that U.S. deterrence should prevent a Chinese attack, rather than merely retaliate after one occurs.
• The statement recommends a mutual-security understanding between India, other free Asian countries, and the United States.