6th August 1945. Imperial Japan had refused to surrender even though all the other Axis powers had. Hitler and Mussolini were dead – the Second world war in Europe had come to an end as far as conflicts were concerned (A long age of a partitioned Germany and the Nuremberg trials would happen later). Roosevelt had overseen the construction of secret weapon and Truman, who came to power in the April of that year, ordered for its use.

The city of Hiroshima was bombed on the 6th of August 1945 – the first ever atomic bomb attack in human history. 3 days later, another Japanese city – Nagasaki was bombed with the nuclear weapon – forcing Japan to surrender unconditionally and bring the second world war to a decisive end in the favour of the Allied forces. But Truman and most Americans shall never know what it is to be bombed with the weapon. Hiroshima and Nagasaki mark the only instances of atomic bombing recorded. The Allied had failed to bring Japan to its knees and sought the Atom bomb as a quick and effective way. But this quick way, which was a joint plan by the US and its allies – as required by the Quebec Agreement killed a 150,000 people – a 120,000 of them being civilians in Hiroshima alone. And this might have been one of the deadliest attacks on a civilian city by any country involved in a conventional warfare – let alone the US that was trying top be the leader of human rights and civilian liberties.

To the Allies, the bomb meant an end to warfare and a sign of American supremacy for the next 5 decades. But to Japan, it meant deaths of 200,000 people in both cities and several decades of nuclear poisoning, radiation induced mutations and cancers that spanned several generations and in some families continue even today.

The University of Texas created a photobook to let the average American – who allegedly yields more pride than sympathy toward the incident – to know of the plight of a nuclear warfare. And people across the world – may it be Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, American, Russian, Israeli or North Korean(if they could read this) would agree that the rhetoric of a nuclear warfare is so blatant in these societies that a bunch of stupid people in the government can lead to a humanitarian and environmental crisis unprecedented in history.

The Hiroshima Day is a reminder of the powers of nature that man has been able to harness and the fact that these powers mean only more responsible behaviour is needed in all of us.