
Contending that India is a nuclear-weapon state whether the world recognises it or not, former President APJ Abdul Kalam has said the country needs not go for any more atomic tests to prove this status "again and again".
Kalam, who has brought out a special edition of his e-magazine 'Billion Beats' on the Indo-US nuclear deal, has said the country should believe in its strength as he sought to allay fears that the agreement would compromise India's sovereignty.
The deal, apart from paving the way for Uranium imports, will help India develop nuclear technology that the world may need in the future, said the strong proponent of the agreement in an article 'Strength respects Strength'.
He said people should believe in the country's strength in economy and security and prove to the world that "India is wiser" in playing a responsible nation in achieving energy independence vision before 2030.
"I am still confident that one day the nation will wake up to this call. That day is not too far. It should be remembered that the nation is bigger than any individual, organisation and all political parties," he said.
Detailing the country's three-stage atomic programme in the magazine, Kalam said, "India is a nuclear-weapon state. The nation should behave like a nuclear-weapon state. We do not have to prove to any country that we are again and again a nuclear-weapon state by doing more nuclear tests, whether they agree or not, whether they recognise or not.
"If they don't recognise it is not our fault; It is not that we are going to lose anything." Kalam, a scientist who played a major role in the 1998 Pokhran tests, said India has "full capability" to deter any nuclear threat by any nation through all means.
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