Should India test Hydrogen bomb or wait for Pakistan? Debate begins as Trump triggers nuclear race

Donald Trump’s statement may begin a global nuclear arms race. (Representative Image.)

Should India test a hydrogen bomb? This question has cropped up after US President Donald Trump announced that test a nuclear bomb. It is yet to be seen whether Trump’s announcement triggers a new nuclear race, but it has set the alarm bells ringing as many countries may do the same lest they are left behind in the race. Trump’s directive may erode the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which mandates a global ban on all nuclear explosions for both civilian and military purposes. What should India do if Pakistan really tests a nuclear weapon, as warned by the US president? Should India take a preemptive step and test a hydrogen bomb, or should it wait for its adversary to do it first?

Will Donald Trump’s statement begin nuclear arms race?

Donald Trump shocked everyone when he said, “Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it… We are gonna test, because they test, and others test. And certainly North Korea’s been testing. Pakistan’s been testing.” He dropped the bombshell after it was reported that Moscow had tested some weapons. Though Russia clarified that the recent weapons tests were not nuclear, Trump’s statement has triggered a race. 

Will Russia test nuclear bomb?

Reacting to Trump’s announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was still waiting for a clarification. He told Russia Today television, “We all still have to get some sort of clarification from the American side because neither Russia nor China has resumed any nuclear tests.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that if any country proceeds with a nuclear weapons test, Russia will also do so. 

Pakistan nuclear test

Pakistan has rejected Trump’s claim. Talking to CBS, a senior Pakistani security official said that Islamabad “will not be the first to resume nuclear tests”. He said, “Pakistan was not the first to carry out nuclear tests and will not be the first to resume nuclear tests.” 

India Pakistan nuclear dilemma

What should India do? Taking to the social media platform X, Indian Army veteran Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla (Retd.) wrote in a post, “Trump announces resumption of nuclear testing. Putin fires the nuclear-powered and armed land cruise missile, Burevestnik, and the underwater nuclear-powered and armed missile, Poseidon. Does India’s nuclear posture need a revisit/re-structuring?”

Should the U.S. resume nuclear testing, India must seize the opportunity to conduct its own
thermonuclear tests, thus validating its deterrent & putting an end to lingering doubts about the success of the 1998 thermonuclear tests. pic.twitter.com/s2WzG2Tp0F

— Happymon Jacob (@HappymonJacob) October 31, 2025

Professor Happymon Jacob, founder of the Centre for Security and Development Research and editor of India’s World magazine, replied to this question and said that this was the right opportunity for India to test a hydrogen bomb, or a thermonuclear device, as it is called. He wrote on X, “Should the US resume nuclear testing, India must seize the opportunity to conduct its own thermonuclear tests, thus validating its deterrent and putting an end to lingering doubts about the success of the 1998 thermonuclear tests.”