Seventy-nine years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were subject to unprecedented devastation following the U.S.’s act of dropping atomic bombs on these cities, Nihon Hidankyo, the organisation that worked for the welfare of the survivors — called the hibakusha — and steadfastly sought to build consensus on the need for the abolition of nuclear weapons, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024. Today, there are barely more than a lakh survivors of the bombings, with the average age of the hibakusha more than 86 years. An estimated 1.5 lakh people died due to the bombings, and many more later due to the after-effects of the exposure to radioactivity. The horrors of the atomic bombings and the inaction by the post-war government, largely due to U.S. censorship of news of the suffering of the hibakusha, crystallised in the formation of the Hidankyo which lobbied and agitated for medical and welfare benefits to the hibakusha and took a steadfast position against atomic weapons. This is emphasised in their slogan, “no more hibakusha”. Besides their activism in Japan, the Hidankyo also went on tours to several countries, including India, to share their suffering and sensitise the world to the horrors of the use of atomic weapons. The Nobel Committee must be commended for recognising the Hidankyo, whose activism as some scholars aver, helped shift the political discourse in Japan towards greater democracy and justice and sensitise the public to the doctrine of pacifism, which was incorporated into Japan’s Constitution after its defeat in the Second World War.
Yet, despite the activism of anti-war organisations and social movements — in these the selflessness of the Hidankyo and the fact that they were the direct sufferers of the use of atomic weapons stand out — nuclear states continue to deploy weapons in their arsenal and use them for sabre-rattling. A case in point is Russia’s recent and unambiguous statement that it will not hesitate to use its nuclear weapons to retaliate against a conventional attack and its use of this threat to brazenly prolong its invasion of Ukraine. There is also the fact that countries such as Israel have surreptitiously acquired nuclear weapons, leading to a nuclear arms race in volatile regions such as West Asia. Existing mechanisms for nuclear non-proliferation also seem to be vitiated by geopolitics even as the nuclear powers have shown little appetite for serious disarmament. Against such a sad reality, the recognition for the Hidankyo, whose hibakusha members are in the evening of their lives, should at least remind the world yet again about the horrors of atomic bomb attacks and stir a debate on meaningful nuclear disarmament.
Published – October 16, 2024 12:20 am IST
