By Dr Arun Mitra
Everyone by now knows the dreadful effects of the atomic bombs used by the US on human population at Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6th and 9th August 1945 respectively. Testimonies by the survivors, the Hibakusha and the reports by the Red Cross speak effectively of the catastrophe that occurred in these two places. Over two lakh people died. Number of people injured, rendered destitute, homeless and orphaned far exceeds this number. Effect of radiations on the generations after that is still felt. That was the time of unprecedented humanitarian crises and agony never heard of before.
Dr. Marcel Junod, the new head of the ICRC’s delegation in Japan was the first foreign doctor to reach Hiroshima on 8 September 1945, one month after the dropping of the atom bomb. He described that the center of the city was a sort of white patch, flattened and smooth like the palm of a hand. The medical care was in shambles and rudimentary with any medicines or equipment to support the medical care. Dr Junod noted the consequences of the bomb for Hiroshima’s medical corps; out of 300 doctors, 270 died or were injured; out of 1,780 nurses, 1,654 perished or were injured. He made an appeal for the bomb to be banned outright, just as poison gas was outlawed in the aftermath of the First World War.
This catastrophe should have been a lesson for the world community to move forward for complete abolition of nuclear weapons from earth. On the contrary the number of nuclear weapons possessing countries increased with present number to be at nine. These include USA, Russia, Britain, France, China, North Korea, India, Pakistan and Israel. It is an irony that five of these are in Asia, which is relatively a deprived region.
In 2023 China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the UK and US spent a combined $91.4 billion on their nuclear arms, which breaks down to $173,884 per minute, or $2,898 a second. The United States’ share of total spending, $51.5 billion, is more than all the other nuclear-armed countries put together
It is now well proven through various studies that the nuclear weapons are a real threat to not only the human population but the whole flora & fauna on earth. A study on Climate Consequences of Regional Nuclear War has pointed out that even a limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan using 100 Hiroshima sized nuclear weapons would put over two billion people at risk of starvation and death. A nuclear exchange between the two major nuclear powers, the Russia and the USA could be end of modern civilisation built through thousands years of human labour.
It is therefore imperative that nuclear weapons are abolished for good. On-going wars must stop. Nuclear weapon will not be used suddenly but conditions for their use are created by the pre-existing war conditions. Any further escalation between Russia and Ukraine as indicated by the NATO, EU and the decision of the US to supply long range missiles to Ukraine could lead to dangerous results. Continuing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza by the Zionist Israeli regime and its quest to increase the area under control to other parts of the Middle East could be dangerous in the long run. Recent war between Iran and Israel can be dangerous even now as the tension is not over. Tension between India and Pakistan and also China the three nuclear powered neighbours is to be seen with serious concern. On-going conflicts in parts of Africa add to their concerns for food and health. Trump;s rhetoric to take over Panama Canal, change the Gulf of Mexico, lust to control Green Land and also his desire to make Canada another state of the US is fraught with danger.
Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Gutteres has said that ‘Humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation’. It is time now that all states must condemn the recent threats to use nuclear weapons, the increase and modernization of nuclear arsenals, and the increased role of nuclear weapons in security doctrines.
To achieve the goal of nuclear abolition there is need to build strong anti- nuclear narrative. This would need a strong peace movement. The immediate post 2nd world war period saw emergence of such peace initiatives. Powerful public protests in 1980s led to several treaties like the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the START which played a significant role in bringing down the number of nuclear weapons which was at its peak in 1985. Coordinated action by the global south is needed as was seen when the Non –aligned movement was active. There is need to rejuvenate the NAM, SAARC. Promote Nuclear weapons Free Zones. The so called big power must accept the reality of multi polar world. The Trump administration should shed its plans for global dominance. Any increase in the economic inequalities around the globe will add to tensions and arms race. There is need to reject the thought that peace comes through military power. Peace education should be given from the very childhood child hood to save the future.
Dr Arun Mitra is a Practicing ENT Surgeon in Ludhiana, Punjab.
8 August 2025
Source: countercurrents.org