80 Years After Hiroshima: Is the Norm of Non-Use of Nuclear Weapons Crumbling?

✍️ A Comprehensive UPSC Blog by Suryavanshi IAS

📘 Relevance to UPSC Syllabus

🔹 GS Paper 2: International Relations

India and Global Nuclear Regimes
Global Governance and Rule-Based Order
Strategic Autonomy & Diplomacy

🔹 GS Paper 3: Internal Security

Role of External State and Non-state Actors in Threatening Security
Science & Technology in Defence
Issues relating to Disarmament and Arms Control

🧭 Context: 80 Years Since Hiroshima, But the Nuclear Shadow Lingers

On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM, the world changed forever. A single bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed 70,000 people instantly. By the end of the year, 140,000 were dead due to injuries and radiation.

Three days later, Nagasaki saw another 40,000 perish in an instant.

Yet, for 80 years, nuclear weapons have not been used again in war — despite the increase in both the number of nuclear states (1 to 9) and the sophistication of arsenals.

This period has witnessed the establishment of an unwritten global norm of non-use of nuclear weapons. However, this norm is not immutable, and recent global events have begun to place it under considerable strain.

☢️ Hibakusha: The Living Moral Force Against Nuclear War

The Hibakusha — survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — became the moral compass of nuclear disarmament.

But their struggles were long ignored. Under American occupation, radiation sickness was deliberately suppressed.

A US Brigadier General falsely claimed that all victims had died instantly, and relief centres were shut down.

It was only nine years later, after the Castle Bravo thermonuclear test (1954) contaminated the Japanese fishing boat Fukuryu Maru, that the true effects of radiation entered public discourse.

All crew members suffered acute radiation poisoning, and many died slowly — not from explosions, but from invisible suffering.

This led to the formation of Nihon Hidankyo, which spread the anti-nuclear message globally.

Their stories — of people losing skin, vision, limbs, and dignity — humanised the cost of nuclear war like no strategic doctrine ever could.

⚖️ Is the Norm of Non-Use a Moral Code or Strategic Logic?

The global consensus against nuclear use may be moral, thanks to Hibakusha, but it is also strategic — rooted in deterrence theory.

“What deters?” — this question has puzzled statesmen for decades.

While nuclear stockpiles have reduced since the Cold War, the weapons today are:

More accurate
More usable
Designed for tactical, battlefield use, not just city-destruction.

So, do we fear:

A thermonuclear bomb that can level a city?
Or a small tactical nuke that might be seen as “acceptable” for limited wars?

This grey area of “usable nukes” threatens the moral clarity of non-use.

📜 Legal & Institutional Framework — Gaps and Limitations

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) – Limits the spread of nukes but doesn’t prohibit their use.
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) – Bans nuclear testing, not weaponisation or usage.
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2017) – Calls for a total ban but hasn’t been signed by any nuclear power.
International Court of Justice (1996 Advisory Opinion) – Declared that nuclear use would generally violate humanitarian law, but stopped short of an outright ban.

Hence, the norm of non-use is political and ethical — not legal.

🚨 Recent Strains on the Non-Use Doctrine

🌍 Russia-Ukraine War (2022– )

Russia issued open nuclear threats to deter NATO intervention.
It revived Cold War fears and tested global tolerance for nuclear intimidation.

🇮🇳 India’s Statement During Operation Sindoor (April 2025)

After the Pahalgam terror attack, India retaliated militarily.
PM Modi warned:

“India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail.”
Though not a direct nuclear threat, it reflected how quickly conventional conflicts now flirt with nuclear overtones.

These instances show that nuclear signalling is no longer taboo, especially in high-stakes regional conflicts.

🏆 Hibakusha Finally Recognised: Nobel Peace Prize, 2024

After years of being nominated, the Nihon Hidankyo received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024.

This came amid fears of nuclear escalation in Europe, making the world finally appreciate the value of their warnings.

Their recognition was not just symbolic — it was a global appeal to preserve the non-use doctrine.

🔎 UPSC Mains PYQs You Should Reflect On

Year	Question
2023	The threat of nuclear weapons in contemporary geopolitics is no longer a Cold War relic. Discuss.
2020	The arms race in space and cyber domains is creating new challenges to international security. Elucidate.
2019	Evaluate India’s role in nuclear disarmament and global non-proliferation efforts.
2018	How is India's foreign policy shaped by its nuclear doctrine and strategic interests?
2016	Discuss the challenges in achieving nuclear disarmament.
2014	Critically analyse India’s nuclear doctrine and its relevance in today’s strategic environment.

✍️ Mains Answer Writing Framework (GS-2 / GS-3)

Q. "The norm of non-use of nuclear weapons is under severe strain. Examine in light of recent geopolitical developments."

Introduction

Briefly recall Hiroshima and the decades of restraint that followed.
Mention the emergence of the non-use doctrine as a global norm.

Body

🔹 Factors sustaining non-use so far:

Moral force (Hibakusha)
Deterrence logic
Political taboos

🔹 Recent pressures:

Russia’s threats in Ukraine
Tactical nukes becoming mainstream
India’s strategic posturing
Absence of legal prohibitions

🔹 Why this matters:

Threat to international law and humanitarian principles
Risk of miscalculation
Arms race revival

Conclusion

Urgent need for global reaffirmation of the non-use norm
Promote disarmament and transparency
Emphasise India’s voice in global peace and security architecture

✅ Conclusion: We Cannot Wait for the Next Nuclear Miscalculation

For 80 years, the world has shown strategic and moral restraint in not using nuclear weapons.

But today, tactical temptations, nationalist politics, and technological advancements are bringing us dangerously close to the edge.

Just like Fukuryu Maru exposed the truth behind nuclear radiation, let us not wait for another mistake to learn the same lesson again.

The norm of non-use is not guaranteed.

It must be protected, strengthened, and reaffirmed — for humanity’s future, not just national security.

Suryavanshi IAS

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