75th Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing

• 07 Aug 2020

Why in News

Japan marked 75 years of the atomic bombing on Hiroshima on 6^th August, 2020.

• Survivors, relatives and foreign dignitaries attend the anniversary of Hiroshima every year to honour victims of the bombings and call for world peace.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • On 6^th August 1945, a US bomber dropped the uranium fission bomb, codenamed Little Boy, on Hiroshima, a city in Japan.
  • Three days later it dropped another bomb codenamed Fat Man, on Nagasaki.
  • The explosion and resultant firestorms are believed to have killed around 80,000 people in Hiroshima and around 40,000 people in Nagasaki.
  • Thousands more died in the following years due to the exposure to radiation from the blast and also from the black rain that fell in the aftermath of the explosions.
  • Long-term effects of the attack included birth defects, malnutrition, cancer and other illnesses
  • This bombing marked the end of World War II, with Japan surrendering to the Allies on 14^th August 1945.
    
    • The Allies were one of the two major alliances during World War-II, led by Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union.
    • The other alliance, Axis was led by Germany, Italy, and Japan.
• Aftermath:
  
  • The attacks were widely criticized around the world for being crimes against humanity.
  • Some historians argue the bombings ultimately saved lives by avoiding a land invasion that might have been significantly more deadly.
    
    • The United States has never apologised for the bombings.
  • However, in Japan, the attacks are widely regarded as war crimes because they targeted civilians indiscriminately and caused unprecedented destruction.
  • After the war, Hiroshima tried to reinvent itself as a City of Peace and continues to promote nuclear disarmament around the world.
  • The survivors of this attack are known as “Hibakusha", many of whom suffered physically and psychologically after the attack.
  • Japan's wartime experience has led to a strong pacifist movement in the country. At the annual Hiroshima anniversary, the government usually reconfirms its commitment to a nuclear-free world.
    
    • Japan signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in February 1970.

Way Forward

• The 75^th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki reminds us of the power that nuclear weapons possess. In present times, we have much more powerful bombs , like Hydrogen bombs, which can unleash much more massive destruction than the nuclear bomb.
• Division, distrust and a lack of dialogue threaten to return the world to unrestrained strategic nuclear competition. Though Non-Proliferation treaty and No First Use Policy of India are significant steps, much needs to be done to totally eliminate the danger of nuclear war.

Source: TH