The national bird of India is the peacock, a majestic animal known for its dazzling display of feathers. It is a grandiose symbol of beauty and prestige. India's strategic arsenal seems to be following the same ideology of the peacock, putting on a dazzling display in order to solidify its place in the global pecking order. However, this form of showboating serves as a harrowing and dangerous precedent for the South Asian region. It reflects a country, prioritising prestige over its national security demands which can create a security dilemma for the region and the world at large.

India's initial drive towards nuclear weapons followed a path of minimum deterrence, with India even opting for a No-First Use (NFU) policy as soon as it conducted its nuclear tests in 1998. India has maintained that China and Pakistan are its key security concerns and for that reason, it has developed nuclear weapons. However, considering India's trajectory of strategic arsenal developments, it no longer seems the........

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