New Delhi: In May 1998, India’s Pokhran-II tests redrew the global strategic map, announcing its arrival as a declared nuclear-weapon state. The doctrine that followed was one of prudence and responsibility: “Credible Minimum Deterrence” built on a “No First Use” (NFU) pledge. For over two decades, this posture has been the bedrock of India’s strategic stability, a guarantee of its sovereignty. But today, that hard-won deterrence is facing an unprecedented, pincer-like squeeze, and its credibility is eroding. Caught between a rapidly expanding, high-tech Chinese arsenal and a doctrinally aggressive, tactical-minded Pakistan, India’s “minimum” posture is being dangerously outmatched. The strategic realities of 2025 are not those of 1998. The “minimum” is no longer “credible” when faced with

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