India's calculated risk of nuclear weapon paid off : Daily Current Affairs

Date: 12/05/2023

Relevance: GS-3: Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology; Indigenization of Technology and Developing New Technology; Nuclear Technology.

Key Phrases: Nuclear Technology, Operation Smiling Buddha, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II).

Context:

On this day 25 years ago, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced that India had conducted three nuclear tests at Pokhran.
- On May 13, after the conduct of two more tests, he declared, “India is now a nuclear weapon state”.

Key Highlights:

Operation Smiling Buddha (Pokhran-I) was the assigned code name of India's first successful nuclear bomb test on 18 May 1974.
Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) tests were a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in May 1998.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments.
- It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 September 1996, but India has not signed it.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.
- Opened for signature in 1968, the treaty entered into force in 1970.
- India did not sign the NPT.

Why were the tests so important for India at that time?

The global nuclear governance set-up after the second world war had the NPT (Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty) as its basis and it had divided the world into the P-5 and others.
- India, though fully embedded in the peaceful uses of atomic energy, was not very happy with this discriminatory world.
In the 1990s, Negotiations for CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty) brought in a tricky situation.
- If we signed on to CTBT, we would have been closing our nuclear option forever.
- If we refused to sign, we would have to explicitly state why we do not want to sign.
- Then a deadline had been set for signing the CTBT, sometime in 1998, after May.
Post 1974, Pakistan had actively started acquiring nuclear weapons.
- China was sharing technology and materials with Pakistan, and it was public knowledge.
- The Indian armed forces knew very well that the Pakistan Army had nuclear weapons.
- And so, there was this situation in which India was faced with two nuclear capable adversaries.
There were other geopolitical reasons as well, but the point is that the situation had come to a level where India had to take a decision for conducting tests.

How was the international reaction to the tests and how was it gone?

More or less, the reaction was as India predicted.
- But there were also many of these countries, who were hammering us publicly but passed on congratulatory messages through unofficial channels.
In the aftermath of the tests on May 11 and 13, the US-led economic sanctions did not have the disastrous effects they once could have — post-liberalisation, the Indian economy had grown enough to hold its own.
India was growing, and was being looked at as an attractive nuclear market.
- The Russians were very keen to supply to India, but they said they would have to sort out the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers’ Group rules).
After protracted negotiations, India had a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States and similar agreements with France, Russia and other countries.

How has India changed as a result of the nuclear tests?

India is still not quite in the mainstream, in the sense that India is not yet full NSG members and its weapons status is de facto but not de jure.
- So, it is not as if everything is done, but India reasonably integrated into the international nuclear mainstream.
India’s becoming a nuclear power also had effects vis a vis its hostile neighbors.
- With respect to China, it has helped balance the military asymmetry by ensuring a credible deterrent.
- Soon after the n-tests, India beat back Pakistan at Kargil — the US, for the first time, did not lean towards Pakistan in a conflict with India.
The most important fall-out has been with regards to access to international technology.
- Prior to this happening, even (obtaining) a high-end computer (from abroad) was a no-no.
- But, even with the United States, India now has a high-tech defense cooperation, the NSSP (Next Steps in Strategic Partnership) happened, and there has been a growing engagement in the high-tech sectors of defense, space and atomic energy.
Today, India is well integrated with the rest of the world as far as technology is concerned.
- And that is bringing a lot of dividends to the country.
- For example, India becoming a partner in ITER would not have happened unless they knew that India was a strong player in nuclear technology.
- India is now part of a large number of international mega-science projects like LIGO, and Thirty Metre Telescope.
Another benefit is national pride and its indirect advantages.
- It is difficult to identify tangible benefits from it but it is a very important factor.
- India’s stature globally has gone up. The perception about India has changed. And it helps commerce and the economy.
- The capacity of the young population has gone up several times because India is technologically integrated.

Way Forward:

For many critics at the time, Pokhran II represented a departure from India’s stated commitment to peace.
- It is clear now that Delhi’s nuclear arsenal is a means for credible minimum deterrence — it's “no first use” policy is a part of that promise.
Complete nuclear disarmament should be a global goal.
- However, given the realities of the post-atomic age, that is unlikely any time soon.
Meanwhile, India today is a responsible nuclear power and in its journey, May 11, 1998, is a major milestone.