Should we be proud or be scared?

India entered an entirely different league by successfully testing Agni-V. With a range of more than 5000 kms (China said it's more than 8000 kms), the missile can cover entire China, Eastern Europe, North Eastern and Eastern Africa and even Australia if fired from the Nicobar Islands.

Agni-V(India)

Agni-V, the ICBM test fired by India, is capable of carrying nuclear warheads and will be crucial for India's defence against China. The missile can carry a pay-load of 1 tonne, is 17 m long, 2 m wide and weighs 50 tonnes. After the missile is inducted into India's strategic forces by 2014-2015, India will acquire a strong deterrent capacity against China.

Only the permanent members of the UN Security Council - China, Russia, France, the United States and the United Kingdom - have such long distance missiles. Israel, too, is believed to posses ICBMs although there is no official confirmation of the same. The missile is a significant improvement over Agni-IV which had a range of only 3500 kms.

But there was more to come. In what is touted as a reply from Pakistan to India, Shaheen-1A was test fired in Indian Ocean within a week. It has a range of about 750 kms.

Shaheen - 1A (Pakistan)

According to the Pakistani military the missile is an improved version of the Shaheen 1 with a longer range. Shaheen 1A has a range of 750 kilometers (465 miles), but there was no immediate confirmation of the new missile's range. Shaheen-1A, an upgraded intermediate-range ballistic missile, can target all the major cities of North and West India.

According to current stats, there are more than 20,000 nuclear warheads present in the world. Russia has the maximum number (about 10,000) followed by USA (around 8,500).(See the table below)

Country	Warheads active/total	Year of first test	CTBT status
The five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT
United States	1,950 / 8,500	1945 ("Trinity")	Signatory
Russia (former Soviet Union)	2,430 / 10,000	1949 ("RDS-1")	Ratifier
United Kingdom	160 / 225	1952 ("Hurricane")	Ratifier
France	290 / 300	1960 ("Gerboise Bleue")	Ratifier
China	180 / 240	1964 ("596")	Signatory
Non-NPT nuclear powers
India	NA / 80–100	1974 ("Smiling Buddha")	Non-signatory
Pakistan	NA / 90–110	1998 ("Chagai-I")	Non-signatory
North Korea	NA / <10	2006 (2006 test)	Non-signatory
Undeclared nuclear powers
Israel	NA/ 80–200	possibly 1979	Signatory

But do we really need these? With already so much destruction, don't we need peace? These WMDs are only going to open new avenues that lead to chaos. Over the past two decades, we witnessed the use of WMDs against Afghanistan, Iraq and in the Gaza strip. Besides terrorists, thousands of soldiers and civilians too lost their lives. 

From movies like Resident Evil, Avengers etc. the filmmakers showed the way the people see these weapons, an easy way out to wipe off any threat!

Today, if a country develops a missile, there is a sense of pride amongst the people. But the truth is that the very same source of pride could be responsible for the loss of their own brothers and sisters.

Unfortunately, the episodes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki couldn't change the fate of mankind. There were prayers, tears but no stopping the events that followed. Today also, people can see the after-effects of what happened there. Apart from deseases like Cancer, the genes of people (survivors and their generations) were permanently distorted. For exmple, there are people who have their eyes on their ankles.(I can't put any pictures here because they are very disturbing)

Instead of spending billions in developing the WMDs, if these countries spend the money wisely towards their people and the environment, won't it be much better?

But nothing has changed, has it? Still, we have a monster named USA which is always ready to joke with the lives of innocent people. Still, developing countries like India and China, are developing these weapons to prove their might. All that i can say is until and unless the world go WMD-free, no one can live a peaceful life. There will always a fear of WMDs going in wrong hands. 

So, the message is clear! Instead of developing the WMDs, the nations should step forth to stop them. There is still time to realise our current position. Still, it's not too late. Hopefully, they will get the message but when, can't be said.