[sacw] Fwd: India: Nuclear Nuances

[Harsh Kapoor]

The following Letter to the Editor was published in the Times of India 
(Bangalore Edn) on 26th Aug. 2000

> >Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 23:53:01 +0500
> >To: lettersbg@i...
> >From: vishwambhar pati <>
> >Subject: on "nuclear nuances"
> >
> >Dear Sirs,
> >
> >The article "Nuclear Nuances", featured as an editorial centrepiece on
>August 22nd in your Bangalore edition, clearly shows that the author (Mr.
>P.K. Iyengar) has not forgotten his D.A.E.-acquired expertise at
>disinformation, even after retirement.
> >
> >For example, in the fourth paragraph, he expresses the "opinion" that the
>ratio of the fusion to fission energy (in the May 11th Pokhran II test)
>"must have been around 1:1". He takes this as an operative figure on the
>grounds that "no one has either publicly or privately disputed that
>number." For example, no one has either publicly or privately disputed the
>conjecture that my liver is made out of platinum. Does that make it a
>truth, or even a reasonable guess?
> >
> >In the next paragraph, he computes the approximate size of the fusion
>core, based upon the conjectured 1:1 fusion fission ratio. He gets the
>figure of around 400 grams. But, since this seems (only seems!) to him to
>be too small a size for a fusion core, he concludes that "the actual core
>must certainly have been much larger". This time he doesn't even bother to
>mention any grounds for his belief, for example, if no public disputes,
>court cases or college debates have established otherwise.
> >
> >Thus, he puts two surmises together and concludes that the fusion core
>must not have burnt entirely. Well, suppose for the sake of argument that
>it didn't. Then how does Mr. Iyengar want this grave lapse remedied? With
>more thermonuclear tests, of course!
> >
> >So, the entire article is an attempt to sell nuclear weaponisation and
>more nuclear testing to the nation, at a time when the orchestrated hype
>about nuclear weaponisation has died down, and when the public has woken
>up, and started asking uncomfortable questions about this venture. It is
>again a grand irony that the walls of secrecy around our nuclear programme
>are so thick, that even the ex-Chairman of the A.E.C. has to disguise
>amateur astrology as a scientific article, because even he isn't privy to
>the facts. And the only reason for him to carry out this exercise is to
>further obfuscate matters for the lay public. Is it any wonder, then, that
>the public is so distrustful of science and scientists?
> >
> >Sincerely yours,
> >
> >Vishwambhar Pati
> >Theoretical Statistics and Mathematics Division,
> >Indian Statistical Institute,
> >Bangalore Centre,
> >R.V. C.E. Post,
> >Bangalore 560 059