India and Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Re “Coming Out From Gandhi’s Shadow,” by Vinay Lal, Commentary, May 19: Mahatma Gandhi’s theory of nonviolence was a wonderful tool to fight the British Empire. It worked in no small part due to the civilized British concept of fair play. Nonviolence would never have worked in the era of Mogul ruler Aurangzeb, or during the reign of Hitler. Lal is being indescribably naive if he believes that nonviolence is going to preserve and protect Indian culture and India from the dangers it faces in the likes of the Muslim fundamentalists of Pakistan and China’s expansionist vision.

I am a very proud Indian woman, a research physicist, who is not a supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party, yet I, along with millions of other Indians, support the decision to carry out nuclear tests. They are necessary for our survival in the subcontinent. That is why they were carried out, not to gain self-esteem, as Lal so mistakenly thinks.

MONALI KHANDAGLE

Van Nuys

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Re “Indian Tests Put Nonproliferation Agreements at Risk,” May 16: It is not surprising that the participants in the summit meeting of the Group of 8 could not agree on a strategy on how to deal with India’s nuclear weapons tests. Only 13 nations have ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Only Britain and France of the Group of 8 have ratified the treaty.

Thus the U.S., along with others, does not have the moral position to condemn India. There are members of Congress who believe we need to continue testing, and we have actually carried out a “subcritical” test recently.

We need to abolish all nuclear weapons before they destroy us. The pity is that none of the leaders at the summit meeting had the guts to say this to the world.

SOL LONDE

Northridge

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India exploded five nuclear devices and declared that it is ready to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. When will it be ready to raise the income of the 70% of the population above the poverty line and ready to declare that it is no longer an underdeveloped nation?

SHARAN G. NANDI

South Pasadena