Pokhran 1974: India's first nuclear test was delayed by 5 minutes due to...

India.com

18-05-2025

Representational Image/AI-generated
Pokhran nuclear test: On May 18, 1974, exactly 51 years ago, India shook the world by conducting its first nuclear test at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range, deep inside the barren Thar desert in Rajasthan. Under Pokhran-I, codenamed the 'Smiling Buddha', India successfully detonated a nuclear fission bomb, joining a select group of elite nations with nuclear weapons capability. Why India's first nuclear test was delayed?
A little known incident from the historic day of May 18, 1974 is that India's first nuclear test faced a delay of around five minutes. Let us find out why.
According to details, while all preparations for the nuclear test were complete, and a scaffold was set up five kilometers away where top military officials and scientists were to witness the detonation. As the scheduled time started winding down, scientist Virendra Sethi was asked to inspect the test site for one final time.
However, after completing the inspection, Sethi's jeep broke down, forcing him walk two kilometers on foot to reach the control room, due to which the test was conducted at 8:05 AM, a five-minute delay from its scheduled time of 8 AM. How India's nuclear dream became a reality?
India becoming a nuclear power as early as 1974, less than three decades after independence, was a remarkable achievement by a country which was still marred by economic and food insecurity, fought multiple wars with its hostile neighbors, defied the US hegemony, and yet showed the resilience and fortitude to become a strong military power.
Apart from the iron-willed leadership of Indira Gandhi– India's then Prime Minister– the Pokhran nuclear test was the fruit of seven long years of hard work by a team of brilliant nuclear scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, who worked tirelessly on developing India's nuclear capabilities.
The 75-member team, which also included India's rocket pioneer Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, led by then BARC director Dr. Raja Ramanna, worked laboriously from 1967 to 1974 on India's top secret nuclear project, which culminated with the country's first nuclear test on May 18, 1974.
Dr Kalam would later go on to lead India's second series of nuclear test under Pokhran-II in 1998. India's Iron Lady Indira Gandhi and the Pokhran nuclear test
During a 1972 visit to BARC, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had reported given verbal permission to scientists to build a plant for nuclear testing. The whole operation was highly classified, and no country, not even the United States, was kept in the loop, till the day of test.
India's surprise nuclear test infuriated the US who imposed a wave of sanctions on the country, including halting the export of nuclear material and fuel to India. But during this crucial hour, India found support from the Soviet Union (USSR), a staunch adversary of the US during the Cold War days. Indira Gandhi's stance on nukes differed from Shastri, Nehru
Notably, India's top political leadership differed in their opinion about whether India should weaponize nuclear capabilities. India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru maintained an ambivalent stance on the development of nuclear weapons, despite growing security concerns in wake of the 1962 India-China war, and Beijing's nuclear test at Lop Nur in 1964.
Lal Bahadur Shastri, who succeeded Nehru as Prime Minister, also resisted domestic pressure for India to develop nuclear weapons, and instead attempted to secure security guarantees from nuclear powers during his 1964 UK visit.
However, Indira Gandhi's stance on nuclear weapons are completely opposite to her predecessors, including her late father. After coming to power in 1966, Indira Gandhi essentially gave a green signal to BARC scientist to develop nuclear weapons capabilities, and ensured that the project was kept top secret, away from prying eyes of New Delhi's rivals, who could've attempted to sabotage the operation by any means possible.
Ultimately, owning to Indira Gandhi's resolve, and the tireless hard work of our nuclear scientists, India conducted its first nuclear test on May 18, 1974, at the Pokhran Test Range in the remote Thar desert in Rajasthan.