India is planning to curb its greenhouse gas emissions partly by opening dozens of nuclear reactors over the next two decades, but domestic opposition to additional reactors has been fierce. Citizens have been alarmed by the nuclear industry’s poor reactor safety record and by evidence that the country’s new Russian-built reactors contain defective parts due to corrupt manufacturing. The government has reacted aggressively to the protests, arresting hundreds of thousands of participants and depicting some of them as stooges of the United States and other foreign powers who harbor anti-Indian sentiments. The vehemence of the protests raises questions about the Indian government’s plan to use nuclear power to keep from becoming the world’s largest contributor to global warming over the next 35 years.