THE IMPACT OF ANTI-NUCLEAR MOVEMENTS ON THE INDIAN STATE'S CIVIL NUCLEAR ENERGY POLICY

Abstract

The construction and commissioning of nuclear power plants forms a key constituent of India’s civil nuclear policy. The implementation of India’s civil nuclear policy has historically been governed by three key factors: the centralised hierarchy of civil nuclear policy; the technical and financial capacity of the state; and the effectiveness of international collaboration. Anti-nuclear movements are theorised as social movements that emerge from sections of society marginalised within the Indian state’s developmental paradigm. In opposing the inception of nuclear power plants, they challenge the centralised hierarchy of civil nuclear policy. Their impact the implementation of India’s civil nuclear policy is determined by three key factors: their collective action repertoires; the politicisation of nuclear power and the state’s developmental paradigm; and the openness of state input structures. This theorisation is tested through a historical comparative study of three cases of anti-nuclear movements in India: in Kovvada, Haripur and Kudankulam.