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Updated: May 11, 2020 9:18:43 pm
The Shakti-II site after the Pokhran nuclear tests on May 11, 1998. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Today (May 11) is National Technology Day, celebrated on the day that India successfully tested its first nuclear bombs in 1998. Between May 11 and 13, 1998, five devices were tested during the Nuclear tests in Pokhran of Rajasthan.
India is currently among the eight countries in the world that have a publicly known nuclear weapons program.
On National Technology Day, our nation salutes all those who are taking advantage of technology to make a positive difference in the lives of others. We remember the exceptional achievement of our scientists on this day in 1998. It was a historic moment in the history of India. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 11, 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter on Monday: “On National Technology Day, our nation salutes all those who are taking advantage of technology to make a positive difference in the lives of others. We remember the exceptional achievement of our scientists on this day in 1998. It was a historic moment in the history of India. “
India and nuclear weapons
At the time of India’s independence, the country’s leaders were opposed to fully adopting nuclear weapons.
Just two years earlier, in 1945, the world had witnessed the horrific nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mahatma Gandhi called the use of nuclear weapons morally unacceptable. His protégé and India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was also skeptical, but kept the door open for future consideration.
This future came early, as the defeat of India in the 1962 Sino-Indian War gave rise to legitimate fears about national security.
Then, in 1974, India conducted its first nuclear test, codenamed “Smiling Buddha”, at Pokhran in Rajasthan. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi called the test a “peaceful nuclear explosion”. India demonstrated to the world that the country could defend itself in an extreme situation and decided not to immediately arm the nuclear device it tested in Pokhran.
Things changed in the 1980s when Pakistan covertly began developing its own nuclear program. India was forced to develop its own undercover program. This happened while Indian diplomacy was pushing for global disarmament in forums like the United Nations.
The Pokhran II Trials
The Siege of India finally ended when another device detonated in 1998, again in Pokhran. Then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee publicly declared the state of India as a nuclear weapons power.
The tests were conducted by former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who led the scientific team that made the preparations for the tests. Codenamed Operation Shakti, the mission began on May 11, 1998. The tests consisted of 5 detonations, the first of which was a fusion bomb, while the remaining four were fission bombs. One fusion bomb and two fission bombs were tested on May 11, and two more fission bombs on May 13. With the tests, India achieved its goal of building fission and thermonuclear weapons with yields of up to 200 kilotons.
After Pokhran-II, Vajpayee had declared India a nuclear state, then the sixth country in the world to join this league. Unlike 1974, India this time chose to actively develop its nuclear capabilities, and the tests followed economic sanctions from the United States and Japan. The sanctions were later lifted.
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