Days that changed our world

The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.” — Albert Einstein

- By SANTHOSH MATHEW

Eighty years have passed since the twin horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki scorched their way into the conscience of humankind. Yet, even now, those atomic shadows flicker behind every international negotiation table, in every deterrence doctrine, and within every nation’s nuclear vault.

On August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, instantly vaporizing tens of thousands and condemning many more to death through radiation, burns, anda lifetime of silent suffering. It was not just the end of World War II — it was the beginning of a nuclear age whose tremors continue to ripple through the global order. The numbers remain haunting. Hiroshima’s “Little Boy” killed an estimated 140,000 people by the end of 1945. Nagasaki’s “Fat Man” killed approximately 74,000. Entire generations were wiped out in seconds. Survivors — known as hibakusha — bore witness to unimaginable agony: charred corpses strewn across blackened streets, flesh dripping from bone, and children crying out for water in smouldering ruins.

The physical destruction was absolute, but the psychological devastation was perhaps more profound. Japan surrendered on August 15, bringing the war to a close, but at what cost to humanity? At the time, U.S. President Harry S. Truman defended the bombings as necessary to end the war quickly and save countless American and Japanese lives that would have otherwise been lost in a land invasion. However, in the years that followed, many historians, ethicists, and even military officials questioned whether Japan was already on the verge of surrender. Was the bomb more a message to the Soviet Union than a strategic necessity? Was it the first shot of the Cold War, not the last shot of the Second World War? Today, the debate continues, but the facts remain immutable.