SALAAM, PRESIDENT KALAM: THE MAN BEHIND POKHRAN 2
If the world had any doubts after Pokhran-1 of 1974, they were largely answered in 1998. It was a defining moment for both the country and Vajpayee, who was leading a precarious coalition under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). If the world nations had any doubts after Pokhran-1 (Buddha Smiling project) of 1974, carried out by Indira Gandhi, they were to be largely answered in 1998.
The tests of May 11 and 13, 1998, foxed the US and established Vajpayee’s strength as a leader who could take tough decisions even in a coalition. His predecessor, PV Narasimha Rao, had all but come close to conducting the nuclear tests, but was reportedly stopped at the last minute, succumbing to US pressure.
When Murli Manohar Joshi,
Minister for Science and Technology, stopped the proceedings at the Bengaluru
meeting and announced the Pokhran blasts, all the Delhi-based science
journalists present there had a jolt. Some called up and said they were lost as
all action was in the national capital.
The key men behind the triumph of
‘Operation Shakti’ were APJ Abdul Kalam, the then chief of DRDO; R
Chidambaram, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission; K Santhanam, Mission
Director, and Anil Kakodkar, Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
On May 18, the Sunday after the
nuclear tests, a news conference was organized with national and international
media in attendance at the Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi. A foreign correspondent
asked Kalam if it was justifiable that India — a poor nation struggling to
feed its millions, and lacking sanitation — should indulge in this kind of
adventurism?
Pokhran-II consisted of five
detonations, the first of which was a fusion bomb while the remaining four were
fission bombs. The tests were initiated on 11 May 1998, under the assigned code
name Operation Shakti, with the detonation of one fusion and two fission bombs
On 13 May 1998, two additional
fission devices were detonated, and the Indian government led by Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee shortly convened a press conference to declare
India a full-fledged nuclear state. The tests resulted in a variety of
sanctions against India by a number of major states, including Japan and the
United States.
Many names have been assigned to
these tests; originally these were collectively called Operation Shakti–98, and
the five nuclear bombs were designated Shakti-I through to Shakti-V. More
recently, the operation as a whole has come to be known as Pokhran II, and the
1974 explosion as Pokhran-I.
DOMESTIC REACTIONS
News of the tests were greeted
with jubilation and large-scale approval by society in India. The Bombay Stock
Exchange registered significant gains. Newspapers and television channels
praised the government for its bold decision; editorials were full of praise
for the country's leadership and advocated the development of an operational
nuclear arsenal for the country's armed forces.
The Indian opposition, led by
Congress Party criticized the Vajpayee administration for carrying out the
series of nuclear tests. The Congress Party spokesperson Salman Khursheed,
accused the BJP of trying to use the tests for political ends rather than to
enhance the country's national security.
By the time India had conducted
tests, the country had a total of $44bn in loans in 1998, from the IMF and the
World Bank. The industrial sectors of the Indian economy, such as the chemicals
industry, were likely to be hurt by sanctions. The Western consortium
companies, which had invested heavily in India, especially in construction,
computing and telecoms, were generally the ones who were harmed by the
sanctions. In 1998, Indian government announced that it had already allowed for
some economic response and was willing to take the consequences.
INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS
Strong criticism was drawn from
Canada on India's actions and its High Commissioner. Sanctions were also
imposed by Japan on India and consisted of freezing all new loans and grants
except for humanitarian aid to India.
Some other nations also imposed
sanctions on India, primarily in the form of suspension of foreign aid to India
and government-to-government credit lines. However, the United Kingdom, France,
and Russia refrained from condemning India.
CHINA
“India conducted nuclear tests
last May, which has run against the contemporary historical trend and seriously
affected peace and stability in South Asia. Pakistan also conducted nuclear
tests later on. India's nuclear tests have not only led to the escalation of
tensions between India and Pakistan and provocation of nuclear arms races in
South Asia, but also dealt a heavy blow to international nuclear disarmament
and the global nonproliferation regime. It is only natural that India's nuclear
tests have met with extensive condemnation and aroused serious concern from the
international community.”
— Chinese Embassy, New
Delhi
PAKISTAN
The most vehement and strong
reaction to India's nuclear explosion was from a neighbouring country,
Pakistan. Great ire was raised in Pakistan, which issued a severe statement
blaming India for instigating a nuclear arms race in the region. Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed that his country would give a suitable reply to
India. The day after the first tests, Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan
indicated that Pakistan was ready to conduct a nuclear test. He stated:
"Pakistan is prepared to match India, we have the capability.... We in
Pakistan will maintain a balance with India in all fields", he said in an
interview. "We are in a headlong arms race on the subcontinent."
On 13 May 1998, Pakistan bitterly
condemned the tests, and Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub was quoted as saying that
Indian leadership seemed to "have gone berserk and was acting in a totally
unrestrained way."Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was much more subdued,
maintaining ambiguity about whether a test would be conducted in response:
"We are watching the situation and we will take appropriate action with
regard to our security", he said. Sharif sought to mobilise the entire
Islamic world in support of Pakistan and criticised India for nuclear
proliferation.
UNITED STATES
The United States issued a strong
statement condemning India and promised that sanctions would follow. The American
intelligence community was embarrassed as there had been "a serious
intelligence failure of the decade" in detecting the preparations for the
test.
In keeping with its preferred
approach to foreign policy in recent decades, and in compliance with the 1994
anti-proliferation law, the United States imposed economic sanctions on India. The
sanctions on India consisted of cutting off all assistance to India except
humanitarian aid, banning the export of certain defense material and
technologies, ending American credit and credit guarantees to India, and
requiring the US to oppose lending by international financial institutions to
India.
From 1998–1999, the United States
held series of bilateral talks with India over the issue of India becoming
party of the CTBT and NPT. In addition, the United States also made an
unsuccessful attempt of holding talks regarding the rollback of India's nuclear
program. India took a firm stand against the CTBT and refusing to be signatory
party of it despite under pressure by the US President Bill Clinton, and noted
the treaty as it was not consistent with India's national security interest.
U.N. SCRUTINIZATION
The reactions from abroad started
immediately after the tests were advertised. On 6 June, the United Nations
Security Council adopted Resolution 1172 condemning the test and that of
Pakistan's. China issued a vociferous condemnation calling upon the international
community to exert pressure on India to sign the NPT and eliminate its nuclear
arsenal. With India joining the group of countries possessing nuclear weapons,
a new strategic dimension had emerged in Asia, particularly South Asia.
APJ KALAM: The Mastermind
Behind
The brain behind the multiple
nuclear tests carried at the Pokhran test range was of Kalam. After specializing
in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology, Kalam joined
the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). He was also the
Scientific Adviser to Defense Minister and Secretary, Department of Defense
Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999.
During this period, the former
president led the weaponization of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II
nuclear tests in collaboration with Department of Atomic Energy, which made
India a nuclear weapon state.
Kalam, who had supervised the
Pokhran-II explosions as the chief of the Defense Research and Development Organization,
camping in the Thar desert for over a fortnight, had said the testing was a
"defining moment" in the country's history, next only to adopting the
path of economic liberalization in 1991.
On May 11, 2015 the 'Missile Man of India' had tweeted, "Today, I remember the hot day of 1998 at Pokhran: 53C. When most of the world was sleeping; India's nuclear era emerged.”
Pokhran-II was the series of five nuclear bomb test
explosions. It consisted of five detonations, of which the first was a fusion
bomb and the remaining four were fission bombs.
Another core member of the team
that carried out five tests and then chairman of Atomic Energy Commission R
Chidambaram reminisced, saying, "We recall the pleasure and excitement of
May 11, 1998. It was just a coincidence that this day too, was Buddha Purnima
(just like the day on first test at Pokhran in 1974)."
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
had presented Kalam with a memento of a banyan tree bonsai which had a statue
of a smiling Buddha under it. "The Buddha has smiled" was the code
used by scientists in 1974 to declare that the nuclear test has been
successful.
India was able to deceive spy
satellites of the United States and other countries while carrying out the
test. The Pokhran site was under surveillance as Vajpayee had actually given
the authorization to undertake the test in 1996.
References:
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/how-pokhran-ii-announced-the-arrival-of-india-and-vajpayee/article24709211.ece
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokhran-II
https://www.news18.com/news/india/apj-abdul-kalam-the-man-behind-pokhran-2-and-indias-nuclear-weaponisation-1026640.html
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