பொக்ரானில் அணுகுண்டு சோதனை முடிந்து இருபது ஆண்டுகள் ஆகிறது.

பிரதமர் வாஜ்பாய் காலத்தில், அதாவது 1998இல் பொக்ரானில் அணுகுண்டு சோதனை வெற்றிகரமாக மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டது. சரியாக இன்றைக்கு இருபது ஆண்டுகள் கடந்துவிட்டன. அது குறித்தான பதிவு நேற்றைய எக்கானமிக் டைம்சில் வந்த செய்திக் கட்டுரை.

How 1998 Pokhran tests changed India's image

A sudden decision

Twenty years ago today, a sudden announcement by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his national security adviser, Brajesh Mishra, turned India's world upside down. On 11th and 13th May, India conducted a set of five nuclear tests, stunning the world. Those tests set India on a road that led to a global acknowledgement of India not merely a nuclear power. Very simply, it helped to get the global high table to make space for India.

Three objectives

Rakesh Sood, former diplomat and someone who was involved in the post-nuclear tests diplomacy, said India had three objectives. "First was to validate new designs to ensure the credibility of the nuclear deterrent as the data set from the 1974 test was limited. Second was to declare that India was now a nuclear weapon state and modify the terms of our engagement with other states accordingly. Third was to generate an acceptance of India as a responsible state with an impeccable non-proliferation record."

Reactions to announcement

The nuclear tests announcement was followed closely by a massive global outreach by India, starting with the US. The first response was outright condemnation issued from every multilateral platform. But in a counter-intuitive action, then foreign minister Jaswant Singh and US deputy secretary Strobe Talbott began a conversation — that led to a whole new relationship being built between US and India. As Raja Mohan, director Carnegie India says, the tests "were needed to end India’s international isolation. They provided the basis for reconciliation with the global nuclear order, and redefined our relationship with the US."

Challenging world's notion on India

Former NSA, Shivshankar Menon believes the tests "shook loose our relations with all major powers, US, China, even Pakistan. The world had got used to a certain kind of India. That was challenged, successfully." Former foreign secretary S. Jaishankar says the tests created one of the pre-requisites for India's aspiration to become a leading power. "The actions we took 20 years ago ensured our national security. Our responsible record and subsequent engagements ensured global understanding of our policies. That is also shown by our nuclear collaborations around the world."

India: A responsible nuclear power

It was counterintuitive, but the 1998 nuclear tests began the process for the world to acknowledge India as a responsible nuclear power. It was something Indian strategists said ad infinitum, that from 1974 despite decades of economic and technological sanctions, India had remained true to the highest NPT standards despite being an NPT outlier. While harmonising itself with the global nuclear order, the tests and their aftermath ironically destroyed the prevalent 'nuclear superstructure'.

Pakistan follows

Ironically, with Pakistan, the 1998 tests — Pakistan followed soon after — gave Islamabad-Rawalpindi a sense of a 'threshold' below which they could continue to wage a proxy war, most spectacularly during Kargil. Since then, Pakistan has taken the riskier path, developing tactical nuclear weapons, while India separated its civil and military programs and put a nuclear doctrine in place.

Two decades on

After two decades, Pokhran 2 culminated in the India-US nuclear deal, membership of three of four global non-proliferation regimes and a waiver from the NSG, doors that had been closed to India. Taking the long view, Ashley Tellis, senior fellow at Carnegie, who helped to negotiate the nuclear deal for the US described the tests as "a turning point in India's engagement with the world— long overdue, but still incomplete, investment in assuring Indian security."

கே.எஸ். இராதாகிருஷ்ணன்.

14-05-2018