By Girish Linganna

Apr 4: Twenty-five years ago, on May 11 and May 13, 1998, India took a significant step that altered its destiny. Apart from the victory in the 1971 Liberation War, which led to the creation of a new entity, Bangladesh, nothing else had boosted India’s confidence and status in the world quite as this one. This decision also had a profound impact on India’s sense of safety and security as a nation. 

For the 20 years preceding the event, India’s nuclear military plans had been kept highly confidential. Precious little was known since India’s first nuclear test, ‘Smiling Buddha’, on May 18, 1974, which India described as a “peaceful nuclear explosion”. 

On May 11, 1998, India’s secret nuclear programme was revealed to the world. With three underground nuclear tests in Pokhran on that date—and two more a couple of days later—the Indian government opened up to the world about what it had done. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke clearly: “We aim for peace, but we want to be clear about our actions. India now has nuclear weapons…” 

India’s 1998 Nuclear Tests & Fallout 

When India conducted nuclear tests in 1998, it caused a huge uproar that led to very tense relations with the United States. Right after the tests, on May 13, the US hit India with penalties under a specific law, called the Glenn Amendment. These penalties are a way to punish countries for doing such things as testing nuclear weapons. 

Not long after, on May 28 and May 30, Pakistan responded to India’s tests by setting off their own nuclear explosions. This was like a show of power, saying they, too, had nuclear capabilities.

China, too, strongly criticized India, accusing it of ignoring the international community’s desire to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. It was, in a way, calling out India for breaking the rules that everyone had agreed on to keep the world ‘safe’. 

Back home in India, such political parties as the Congress and groups in the political Left were not happy with the decision to carry out the tests. They thought it was a bad move and were vocal about their disapproval. 

Looking back in 2024, it is clear that India’s nuclear tests in 1998 were a huge turning point. It was as if India had suddenly become aware of its own strength and potential. These tests really boosted India’s standing in the world, its safety and its power to reshape global affairs. This was the biggest leap for the country since it became independent and, certainly, the most significant one since the Cold War ended. It was a moment when India had stood up and shown the world that it had a strong voice and presence on the global stage. 

Additionally, India’s advancement towards nuclear capabilities, coupled with subsequent developments and insights from declassified sources, led to questioning and, in some instances, disproving three widely held beliefs. 

Challenging 3 Common Assumptions 

¦ The first myth was the idea that only the BJP government wanted the nuclear tests and that the Indian people did not agree with them. 

Although it was the government led by Prime Minister Vajpayee that decided to carry out the nuclear tests, the truth is that almost every Prime Minister since India became independent played a part in building India’s nuclear weapons capabilities. Even Jawaharlal Nehru, who held a strong belief in getting rid of weapons, understood how India’s nuclear programme could help protect the country. 

He suggested that, because India had not developed steam power in time and missed the industrial revolution, it had ended up being colonized. Therefore, he believed, India had to work on nuclear energy for peaceful uses. However, he also mentioned that, if India was forced to, it would not hesitate to use nuclear energy for non-peaceful purposes despite any moral objections. 

During the time that Lal Bahadur Shastri was India’s Prime Minister, China conducted a nuclear test in 1964 at a place called Lop Nor. Following this, Homi Bhabha—known as the pioneer of India’s nuclear efforts—is said to have got approval to explore making nuclear weapons for India. A special team was formed to look into how nuclear explosions could be carried out underground, supposedly for peaceful reasons. This was a way to research nuclear technology that could potentially be used for both peaceful projects and developing weapons. 

Everyone knows that Indira Gandhi gave her approval for India’s first nuclear test in May 1974. This test was officially described as a “peaceful nuclear explosion”, but the person in charge, Raja Ramanna, later admitted it was actually a test of a nuclear weapon. What is not so well-known, however, is that, in 1985—when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister—India made preparations to test a hydrogen bomb much stronger than the one tested a little over a decade earlier under the rule of his mother, Indira Gandhi, in response to Pakistan’s nuclear programmes, according to media reports quoting declassified CIA documents released in 2017. 

In late-1988-1989, Rajiv Gandhi gave the green light to India’s atomic energy and defence research groups to start working on nuclear defence capability. And, by 1990, India had a full-fledged nuclear weapons programme that all the subsequent Prime Ministers supported. Nonetheless, it was the government led by Prime Minister Vajpayee that deserves recognition for carrying out the historical nuclear tests, named ‘Shakti’.

¦ The second myth was that, after conducting the nuclear tests, India would be left alone in the world, facing severe economic problems because of international sanctions and criticism. However, when Jaswant Singh from India started discussions with Strobe Talbott from the US, it became clear that India was considered too significant and had a clean record of not spreading nuclear weapons. 

As a result, the US decided to start treating India as a special case, which, eventually, led to a big deal in 2005—the Indio-US Civil Nuclear Agreement. This agreement allowed India to develop its civil nuclear energy programme with the help of the US despite not having signed certain international treaties on nuclear weapons. 

¦ The third myth was a belief held by certain Western experts who thought India and its neighbouring region, South Asia, could not be trusted with nuclear weapons. They argued that the idea of deterrence—the belief that nuclear weapons prevent war by warning of mutual destruction—which had kept the peace between the Soviet Union and the US, would not work in South Asia. 

In truth, India has set up very advanced and thoughtful guidelines and systems (involving command, control, communication, computers and intelligence—collectively called C4I) for handling its nuclear weapons. These systems are even more sophisticated than what the US and the Soviet Union had when they were 25 years into their own nuclear programmes. The strategy of deterrence has actually been successful in South Asia, helping prevent conflicts not just in big, obvious ways, but also in smaller, less direct ways. 

Understanding India’s Advanced Nuclear C4I 

• Command: This refers to the leadership structure that makes decisions about the nuclear weapons. India has a clear chain of command to decide when and how nuclear weapons should be used, ensuring that such grave decisions are made responsibly
• Control: This is about having strict rules and procedures to make sure nuclear weapons are used only if the command decides. It is like having multiple locks and keys to prevent misuse
• Communication: This means that there are secure ways to send messages about nuclear weapons. Just like having a private, super-secure line that only specific people can use, this ensures that important information is not intercepted, or tampered with
• Computers: This involves using high-tech computer systems to manage everything related to nuclear weapons—from planning their potential use to maintaining them safely
• Intelligence: This is about constantly gathering and analysing information to protect the country’s nuclear weapons and to be aware of any potential threats or need for defence 

In simple terms, India has a very detailed and high-tech guidebook and toolkit for looking after its nuclear weapons, designed to prevent accidents and unauthorized use, and to make sure they can be effectively used for the country’s defence, if necessary.

India’s Deterrence and Ukraine’s Vulnerability 

Considering the situation where Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and is now facing threats from a nuclear-armed Russia, India should really appreciate the smart thinking of its leaders and scientists. They stood strongly against a lot of pressure and developed nuclear weapons to protect the country. This means India has its own powerful defence to prevent other countries from trying to push it around with the threat of nuclear force. 

Ukraine once had nuclear weapons after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but chose to give them up in the 1990s. They did this in exchange for guarantees of their security and territorial integrity, notably through the Budapest Memorandum, which was signed by Russia, the US and the UK. However, the current situation, highlighted by Russia’s threats, shows how this decision has put Ukraine in a vulnerable position as they no longer have the nuclear deterrent that may have protected them from such aggression. 

(The author Girish Linganna of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)