The U. S. A. and the Soviet Union are vying with each other in testing and producing nuclear weapons. China too has recently entered the race. These facts, together with the mounting rivalry and tension between the two Power Blocs, give rise to the fear that the world is perilously on the brink of a nuclear war. The horrors of a nuclear war are unimaginable. We may have some idea of them by recalling the havoc caused by the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki towards the end of the Second World War. Not only were the two cities wiped out of existence but the atmosphere for miles around was polluted and people there fell victims to strange diseases. The destruction of entire cities and sudden deaths of millions of civilians caused by nuclear weapons are shocking enough. But what is more shocking, though it is not adequately realised by laymen, is the disastrous effect of the use of such weapons on the survivors and their unborn children. The radioactive fallout spreads for miles around and causes untold harm to millions of innocent people. The radiation produced by the splitting of the atom causes mysterious diseases and leads to the birth of defective children. In fact, the fall-out from the nuclear tests and explosions in Siberia and the Pacific has already caused a lot of harm, though the Great Powers carrying out these experiments may not admit it. It is known, for example, that nuclear test made some years ago on the distant Marshall Islands affected the health of several Japanese fishermen. The harm caused by wars in the past was limited. But modern warfare spells disaster to millions of innocent civilians and to the victors themselves who cannot escape from its harmful effects. As Bertrand Russell has said, "Unless mankind abolishes war, war will abolish mankind". Some people argue that any one of the Big Powers will be reluctant to