Why Did Indira Gandhi Offer To Share India's Nuclear Technology With Pakistan In 1974?
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US Embassy cables leaked by Wikileaks in 2013 reveal the offer came months after India's 1974 nuclear test, with Indira Gandhi's Parliament statement cited from July 22, 1974
Did Indira Gandhi once offered to share India's nuclear technology with Pakistan? According to US Embassy cables released by Wikileaks in 2013, this offer was made just months after India's first nuclear test, codenamed Smiling Buddha, in 1974. The cables mentioned Indira Gandhi's statement in Parliament on July 22, 1974.
According to WikiLeaks, Indira Gandhi stated, 'I explained the peaceful and economic objectives of this test in a letter to (Zulfikar Ali) Bhutto and said that India is ready to share its nuclear technology with Pakistan, just as it does with other countries."
The declassified US Embassy cables released by Wikileaks stated that after conducting the first nuclear tests in 1974, Indira Gandhi later extended a hand of cooperation by reportedly offering to share nuclear technology with the neighbouring country.
According to the Wikileaks cables, Indira Gandhi made this offer in a letter to Pakistan's then-prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, explaining that India's nuclear ambitions were peaceful and economically driven, aimed at boosting oil and gas reserves.
In her letter dated July 22, 1974, Gandhi dismissed Bhutto's concerns about radioactive leakage, asserting that the wind was not blowing towards Pakistan at the time of the test.
This proposal reportedly came at a time of heightened tensions following the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, during which India had captured around 93,000 Pakistani soldiers. According to various accounts, many have since debated whether Indira Gandhi's decision to return these prisoners without securing a concrete agreement was a diplomatic misstep.
Nevertheless, her reported offer three years later, to share nuclear technology with Pakistan was viewed by some as a significant peace initiative. However, according to sources, the offer was ultimately rejected by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Indira Gandhi's confidence in pursuing peaceful nuclear advancement was met with international scepticism and led to the imposition of strict technical sanctions on India. According to several reports, the formation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was a direct response, aimed at preventing countries outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), like India, from further developing their nuclear capabilities.
Pakistan, meanwhile, went on to conduct its first nuclear test in 1998 just two weeks after India's second round of nuclear tests, signalling the start of a new phase in the regional arms race.
The Wikileaks revelations have reignited debate on social media around this historic episode, with opinions divided on whether Indira Gandhi's offer to share nuclear technology was a genuine peace initiative or a politically naive move.
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