Power point

The Pokhran tests launched India's march towards being a full partner and participant in the global nuclear order

- M.K. NARAYANAN

India's Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE) in Pokhran marked the beginning of its seminal journey towards becoming a nuclear weapons state. It was a giant stride in so far as India's nuclear journey was concerned, achieved against heavy odds.

Several names figure in the gallery of fame of India's nuclear journey, but physicist Homi Bhabha's stands out. He was the one who convinced prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to take the nuclear plunge, despite the odds.

The Pokhran test took place against the backdrop of intense hostility towards India by several world powers. India had, by then, decisively defeated Pakistan in a war, where it had the backing of much of the west and, implicitly China.

The war led to its dismemberment and the birth of a new state, Bangladesh. Undertaking a nuclear test at a time like that, hence, was an extremely bold decision by India's leaders. Many countries were also intent on punishing India for disrupting the so-called established nuclear order. Undeterred, India had proceeded to carry out an underground test in May 1974. PNE experiments were not frowned upon by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the time. Yet, India faced the ire of both the IAEA and much of the world. The immediate fallout was disruption of low-enriched uranium fuel supplies for the US-supplied boiling water reactors in Tarapur.