In Response to Dr. Kalam: Shankar Sharma

(Editor’s Note: India’s former President and one of the main architects of India’s nuclear weapons tests in 1998, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, has come out in support of Indian government’s nuclear expansion. His recent article Nuclear power is our gateway to a prosperous future is an ode to the virtues of nuclear energy, hailing it necessary for India’s rapid economic growth.  Dr. Kalam’s article does not only present a distorted, techno-determinist outlook for India’s future ‘development’ based on unhindered energy consumption, unviable urbanisation and pursuit of the the American dream, but also presents contested and outdated official rhetoric about nuclear energy as axiomatic facts. Since Dr. Kalam’s persona enjoys a great admiration among the Indian people, particularly the urban middle classes, and the media also goes out of its way to give space to his voice, we hope that the concerned Indian experts and social activists would undertake this painstaking responsibility in near future to clear the misconceptions arising out of Dr. Kalam’s article about safety, viability and future of nuclear energy. In this series, DiaNuke.org is publishing a letter written by energy policy analyst Mr. Shankar Sharma. We are also reproducing his recent presentation putting the nuclear and the entire energy question in a more holistic perspective.)

To
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
C/O Editor, The Hindu

Dear Dr. Kalam,

Greetings from Western Ghats.
This has reference to an article in The Hindu under your name as below.

Nuclear power is our gateway to a prosperous future

After reading the article I got the feeling that a holistic view of nuclear power and the Indian energy scenario was not considered by those who might have briefed you.

When we consider a crucial policy, such as nuclear power policy, which will have far reaching consequences for many generations, we should not only take a very careful approach but also respect the ”precautionary principle” as propounded by World Charter for Nature which was adopted by consensus by UN General Assembly in 1982.