18 Feb, 2009 · PR Chari and Arpit Rajain (Ed)
This study, comprising four essays, addresses the
issue of proliferation of biological weapons, which belong to the category of
weapons of mass destruction. This is an issue that finds hardly any resonance in
the Indian strategic community, despite the fact that biological weapons are far
easier to manufacture and can be as destructive as nuclear weapons. The
Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) Treaty, negotiated in 1972 as an
arms control measure, is designed to prohibit attempts ‘to develop, produce,
stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain’ biological weapons. A major lacuna in
this Treaty is the absence of provisions for verification of its compliance,
although efforts have been since 1994 to negotiate a protocol that would enable
its verification.
PR Chari and Arpit Rajain (Ed)
New Delhi: Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, 2001
