25 Years of Operation Shakti: Pokhran II 

Twenty-five years ago on this day, 11 May 1998, India woke in to Nuclear Freedom, setting itself apart from the nuclear apartheid strangle hold regime, which the world led by US of A wanted us to follow. The operation Shakti, carried out on this day in 1998, in one of the most secretive manners, not only caught big powers like the US napping, but also attracted their ire and sanctions both on the economic and technology fronts for sometimes. This was a historic moment for India which was achieved after a great deal of deliberation and preparation, under the able political leadership of Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee supported by scientific and technical leadership of Dr. R Chidambaram, Chairman DAE, Dr Abdul Kalam, Head of DRDO and Dr Anil Kakodkar, Director BARC. The announcement of India going nuclear was made by the then Prime Minister, Vajpayee in the presence of the then National Security Advisor Brijesh Mishra, during an impromptu press briefing which was organised by the PIB on 11 May, 1998.

 A week later, on May 18, the Sunday after the nuclear tests, a media conference was organised with national and international media in attendance at the Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi. This press brief was addressed by the External Affairs spokesperson, R Chidambaram, APJ Abdul Kalam and a battery of top officials. One can recall some interesting anecdotes from this press meet. One of the representatives of a top US publication asked a question to Dr. Kalam - who was had emerged as the visible face of Pokhran-II among the scientists and technologists – whether the “nuclear adventure” conducted by India was justifiable, especially for a poor nation struggling to feed its millions, and lacking sanitation? (One must recall similar questions that Satish Dhawan and his team had to encounter when they first failed in their maiden mission of the Satellite Launch Vehicle – SLV I before the achieveme of ISRO becoming nations darling institute). Dr Kalam, a prodigy of Satish Dhawan, was unperturbed. In his inimitable, storytelling style, Kalam patiently explained: “India has always been a nation under attack in its long history. It has seldom attacked another country. India is presently, surrounded by hostile neighbours, and it requires strong deterrence. In contrast, the US has never been attacked and had the least threat, but why it possesses the highest number of nuclear weapons. Was it justified?”, he had asked. 

The official communication of the compelling reasons under which India had to go for these tests were sent in a letter to U.S. President Bill Clinton, by Vajpayee. He highlighted the “deteriorating security environment, especially the nuclear environment” and made indirect references to China and Pakistan — as the primary justification for Pokhran-II. He wrote “You would already be aware of the underground nuclear tests carried out in India. In this letter, I would like to explain the rationale for the tests. I have been deeply concerned at the deteriorating security environment, especially the nuclear environment, faced by India for some years past. We have an overt nuclear weapon state on our borders, a state which committed armed aggression against India in 1962. ….. At the hands of our bitter neighbour, we have suffered three aggressions in the last 50 years. And for the last ten years we have been the victim of unremitting terrorism and militancy sponsored by it in several parts of our country, especially Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. Fortunately, the faith of the people in our democratic system as also their patriotism has enabled India to counter the activities of the terrorists and militants aided and abetted from abroad”. He ended the letter by stating “ the series of tests are limited in number and pose no danger to any country which has no inimical intentions towards India. We value our friendship and cooperation with your country and you personally. We hope that you will show understanding of our concern for India's security. I assure you that India will continue to work with your country in a multilateral or bilateral framework to promote the cause of nuclear disarmament”.  Although the letter of Vajpayee had no immediate impact when it comes to India avoiding the backlash from US and the international community, yet, it showed the conviction of the leader in his decision of going nuclear, which was in the larger interest of India.

The May 11, 1998, achievements will eternally be remembered as a technical feat which has helped India to be in the league of Nations and a country which the world looks up to as a force to reckon with. Today when we look back at this historic achievement, it must be remembered that there was a whole lot of uncertainty as to how the reaction of the world would affect the future of India. But then fortunately India was able to pass through those testing times of trials and tribulations of sanction regime and we have reason to be extremely happy and satisfied for accomplishing many of the objectives with which Pokhran II was conducted.

The scientific community which was involved in the accomplishment of Pokhran-II or Operation Shakti consisted of more than 100 scientists, technicians and soldiers who worked under the leadership of our former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, then the chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation or DRDO. He was ably supported in this mission by Dr R Chidambaram, then the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, and Dr Anil Kakodkar, then Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. They successfully conducted five underground nuclear tests helping Vajpayee ji to announce to the world that India has gone nuclear. The first set of three tests, code-named Operation Shakti, were conducted on May 11, 1998, which were followed by two more tests on May, 13, thus completing the series of the nuclear tests which would make India a nuclear state. These tests involved a thermonuclear device (fusion bomb) and two fission bombs.

The two fission devices which were tested on May 11, relied on the process of nuclear fission, where heavy atomic nuclei split into lighter fragments, releasing a large amount of energy. The test also included a Thermonuclear Device, which was the main highlight of the Pokhran-II tests. This led to the detonation of a thermonuclear or fusion device. A thermonuclear device, also known as a hydrogen bomb or H-bomb, combines the processes of nuclear fission and fusion to achieve a much higher yield compared to fission devices alone. The yield of the thermonuclear device tested by India on May 11, 1998, was estimated to be around 45 kilotons. These tests were followed up with the two additional tests, which were conducted on 13 May and one of which involved a low-yield device. The low-yield device refers to a nuclear device with a relatively lower explosive yield compared to the thermonuclear device.

Speaking a couple of weeks later in Parliament, Prime Minister Vajpayee said that, “India is now a Nuclear Weapon State. This is a reality that cannot be denied. It is not a conferment that we seek; nor is it a status for others to grant.” As expected, these tests resulted in a great degree of consternation from the international community led by USA. There was also all-round global condemnations and multi-layered sanctions imposed on us which was led by the United States (US).

Fortunately, there was a willingness, consensus and cooperation among the political, diplomatic and scientific leadership on the ways and means to overcome the world reaction. Helped by the statesmanship of Vajpayee ji and his successor, Man Mohan Singh ji and supported by the extraordinary Indian diplomacy, India collectively triumphed in turning a grave crisis of post Pokhran II into an opportunity by securing legitimacy for the Indian nuclear arsenal and removing obstacles in generating nuclear power. The pro-active diplomacy crafted and pursued initially by the then External Affairs Ministry led by Jaswant Singh and followed up by the others who succeeded him, helped the nation in converting a serious crisis into an opportunity by securing legitimacy for its nuclear arsenal and removing major obstacles in generating nuclear power.  The great Indian diplomatic efforts helped us win the US confidence, which led us to the signing of the India-US nuclear deal in 2006 between Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush Jr. Dr Anil Kakodkar, was one of the key members of the team who ensured that his rigid stand and that too at the cost of being called a 600-pound Gorilla by the US team, ensured that our strategic interests were completely safeguarded, while signing this nuclear deal. This deal has helped India to be mainstreamed in the nuclear arena and has given us access to the global nuclear market for the development of nuclear power.

 Unfortunately, the enactment of a liability law, which inhibited nuclear trade, and the setback globally to nuclear power on account of the Fukushima disaster has stood in the way of India benefitting fully from Pokhran II and the subsequent agreements reached. Yet it is a matter of fact that the 1998 tests and the subsequent negotiations on the nuclear deal have brought India to the nuclear mainstream and opened up the global nuclear market for development of nuclear power without signing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) or the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). It is in recognition of this extraordinary feat that was achieved on 11 May that Prime Minister Vajpayee had announced that this day will be commemorated as National Technology Day and he had also added a new term Jai Vigyan to the already eponymous slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kisan, coined by Lal Bahadur Shastri to hail the contributions of Indian farmers and Indian Jawans during the time of crisis when India had just gone through the tragedy of China War in 1962 which was followed by another war with Pakistan in 1965.

The success and the impact of the Pokhran II is evidenced from the fact that the Bollywood which was normally averse to using science and technology subjects for film making used this incident to produce a melodramatic film entitled "Paramanu", which went on to become a box office success. 

Wishing you all a very happy National Technology Day

Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan and Jai Vigyan.