India Under Attack.......
As per classical definition “Biological warfare is the intentional use of microorganisms, and toxins (microbial, plant or animal origin), to produce disease and/or death in humans, livestock and crops”. Biological Weapons (BWs) of mass destruction are usually clubbed with the Nuclear and Chemical weapons in the acronym NBC. Nuclear and chemical attacks cause immediate maximal damage, however biological attacks manifest after sometime and may be prolong. The biggest advantage of BWs is its ‘Low production costs’ - BWs are aptly called the “Poor Man's Atomic Bomb” / “Poor Man's Weapons of Mass Destruction”. The other advantages include, non-detection by routine security systems and easy access to a wide range of disease-producing biological agents. Biological toxins are among the most toxic agents biological weapon known e.g. the quantity of botox in the dot of an 'i' is , when delivered properly, can kill as many as 10 people. But unlike nuclear weapons and chemical weapons, biological weapons have been little used in recent warfare, with the exception of Japanese attacks in China (and possibly other Asian countries) before and during World War II. Nevertheless, biological weapons were stockpiled during both world wars and featured in the arsenals of the Cold War antagonists. India’s defensive Biological Warfare Program As early as June 26, 1946, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, soon to be India's first Prime Minister, announced: “ As long as the world is constituted as it is, every country will have to devise and use the latest devices for its protection. I have no doubt India will develop her scientific researches and I hope Indian scientists will use the atomic force for constructive purposes. But if India is threatened, she will inevitably try to defend herself by all means at her disposal” Three decades later in 1974, India, under the leadership of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi conducted an underground nuclear test called ‘Operation Smiling Buddha’ in the Pokhran region of Rajasthan and termed it a "peaceful nuclear explosion". Later, a second series of tests, called ‘Operation Shakti’ were carried out in May 1998 while Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was in power. The devices tested were two fission devices, three low-yield devices and one thermonuclear device (the "H-bomb"). Now India’s nuclear credentials are well recognised, but regarding India’s biological weapon capacities, very limited open source information is available. Agencies like ‘Centre for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction at the Department of Defence, an outfit funded by the National Defence University (USA) suspect that countries like India, Pakistan, including North Korea, China, and Iran are pursuing offensive biological weapons (BW) research, development, and possibly weaponisation. Most of these countries are parties to or signatories of the Biological Weapons Convention 1972, and, consequently, any offensive programmes undertaken would violate their obligations under that treaty.” India is a “very responsible state”, well aware of it’s global role, and will not jeopardize its credentials by violating any international treaty. But, India is also a severe victim of terrorist attacks and experts believe that India is among the most vulnerable countries that run the risk of bioterrorist attack. Although, there is no direct proof that biological warfare attacks have been carried out against India, but experts believe that all the factors are very much in place e.g. pneumonic plague well known in biological warfare in Surat and bubonic plague in Beed in 1994, which caused several deaths and sizeable economic loss. “Suspicious" outbreaks (1996), of dengue in Delhi (10252 cases; 423 deaths), and the outbreak of unidentified encephalitis in Siliguri, eastern India, in February 2001 (66 cases; 45 deaths) have also baffled Indian researchers. Experts in bioterrorism now strongly favor development and expansion of defensive biological warfare (BW) capabilities aimed at countering various diseases, including plague, brucellosis, and smallpox. They also recommended that India should expand its disease surveillance network and its ability to monitor biological attacks. India needs to ensure that bioterrorist attacks are not passed over as natural disease outbreaks or outbreaks of unknown origin, or classified as an emerging infectious disease. The Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) laboratory at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh and National Institute of communicable diseases, New Delhi are the primary establishment for studies in toxicology and biochemical pharmacology. They are aggressively pursuing research on developing antibodies against several bacterial and viral agents. Work is in progress to prepare responses to threats like Anthrax, Brucellosis, cholera and plague, viral threats like smallpox and viral haemorrhage fever and bio-toxic threats like botulism. Researchers have developed chemical/biological protective gear, including masks, suits, detectors and suitable drugs. Chemical agents such as Sarin and nerve gas are also produced in small quantities to test on these protective equipment. Additionally, the Indian government has established nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) warfare directorates in the armed services, as well as an inter-services coordination committee to monitor the all programmes. India has developed five types of protective systems and equipment for its troops as a safeguard against NBC hazards. The development of these protective systems and equipment has been completed and their induction into the service has been formally approved. The Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur has successfully designed and manufactured protective clothing and equipment to counter biological attacks.
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