This is proof that the tendency to jabber is not limited to India’s BJP ministers. However, our military intelligence would surely take note and would not discount the possibility of such a foolish adventure by the nation on the very verge of failure. The development of the so-called smart bomb is easy for any nation that has nuclear capability and is nothing to boast of.
Normally, what is meant by a Smart Bomb or Dirty Bomb is a small low-purity non-strategic but tactical nuclear device that can be delivered on the battlefield by a delivery system such as short-range missile, a shoulder-fired rocket or even a grenade-firing rifle. Unlike the regular bombs with their multiple megatons of destructive capacity, these bombs are effective within a limited area, its power to kill and to cause permanent damage limited to the enemy formation within the battlefield. India has always been aware that Pakistani terrorists could get hold of these weapons – even that the ISI or a desperate Pakistani army might clandestinely supply them with these weapons.
However, use of these weapons would be suicidal for Pakistan. India’s no-first use declaration does not exclude nuclear weapons of limited capacity or shorter range. Once it fires the first dirty bomb – a nuclear weapon by definition – Pakistan might face the consequences of a full-scale nuclear delivery on their land. Their having developed a dozen more (most probably far inferior) nuclear weapons than India possesses will make no difference, considering the geographical variances between the two nations. Perhaps India’s military think-tank realizes the futility of developing small tactical nuclear bombs, or maybe we too have a stockpile. However, India might not, and would not feel under obligation to limit the nuclear use to a tit-for-tat amateur game of trading punches.
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