Smiling Buddha
Pokhran-I Smiling Buddha | |
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Information | |
Country | India |
Test site | Pokhran Test Range (IA) |
Coordinates | 27°04′44″N 71°43′21″E / 27.0788°N 71.7224°E |
Period | 18 May 1974, 8:05 a.m. (IST) |
Number of tests | 1 |
Test type | Underground shaft |
Device type | Fission |
Max. yield | 8–10 kilotons of TNT (33–42 TJ) |
Test chronology | |
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(2002-2007) Books and publications Associated projects
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1966–1977 1980–1984
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Treaties and accords
Missions and projects
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Riots and attacks
Constitutional amendments
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Operation Smiling Buddha or Operation Happy Krishna[a] (MEA designation: Pokhran-I) was the assigned code name of India's first successful nuclear bomb test on 18 May 1974.[1] The bomb was detonated on the army base Pokhran Test Range (PTR), in Rajasthan, by the Indian Army under the supervision of several key Indian generals.[2]
Pokhran-I was also the first confirmed nuclear weapons test by a nation outside the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.[3] Officially, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) characterised this test as a "peaceful nuclear explosion". Indira Gandhi, then the Prime Minister of India, saw a massive rise in popularity following this test. After this, a series of nuclear tests were carried out in 1998 under the name Pokhran-II.
History
Early origins, 1944 – 1960s
India started its own nuclear programme in 1944 when
After
We must develop this atomic energy quite apart from war – indeed I think we must develop it for the purpose of using it for peaceful purposes. ... Of course, if we are compelled as a nation to use it for other purposes, possibly no pious sentiments of any of us will stop the nation from using it that way.
— Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India, [4]
In 1954, Homi Jehangir Bhabha steered the nuclear programme in the direction of weapons design and production. Two important infrastructure projects were commissioned. The first project established
In July 1958, Nehru authorised "Project Phoenix" to build a reprocessing plant with a capacity of 20 tons of fuel a year – a size to match the production capacity of CIRUS.[4] The plant used the PUREX process and was designed by the Vitro Corporation of America.[4] Construction of the plutonium plant began at Trombay on 27 March 1961, and it was commissioned in mid-1964.[4]
The nuclear programme continued to mature, and by 1960, Nehru made the critical decision to move the programme into production.
By 1962, the nuclear programme was still developing, but things had slowed down. Nehru was distracted by the Sino-Indian War.[4] Nehru turned to the Soviet Union for help, but the Soviet Union was preoccupied with the Cuban Missile Crisis.[4] During this period, Soviet Union played a small role in affecting the nuclear policy of India.[7] Design work began in 1965 under Bhabha and proceeded under Raja Ramanna who took over the programme after Bhabha's death.[4]
Weapons development, 1960–1972
Bhabha was now aggressively lobbying for nuclear weapons and made several speeches on Indian radio.[8] In 1964, Bhabha told the Indian public via radio that "such nuclear weapons are remarkably cheap" and supported his arguments by referring to the economic cost of the American nuclear testing programme Project Plowshare.[8] Bhabha stated to the politicians that a 10 kt device would cost around $350,000, and $600,000 for a 2 mt.[8] From this, he estimated that "a stockpile" of around 50 atomic bombs would cost under $21 million and a stockpile of 50 two-megaton hydrogen bombs would cost around $31.5 million."[8] However, Bhabha overlooked the fact that the U.S. Plowshare cost-figures were produced by a vast industrial complex costing tens of billions of dollars, which had already manufactured nuclear weapons numbering in the tens of thousands. The delivery systems for nuclear weapons also typically cost several times as much as the weapons themselves.[8]
The nuclear programme was partially slowed when
In 1967, Indira Gandhi became the prime minister and work on the nuclear programme resumed with renewed vigour.[4] Homi Sethna, a chemical engineer, played a significant role in the development of weapon-grade plutonium, while Ramanna designed and manufactured the entire nuclear device.[9] India's first nuclear bomb project did not employ more than 75 scientists because of its sensitivity.[9] The weapons programme was now directed towards the production of plutonium rather than uranium.[10]
In 1968–69, P. K. Iyengar visited the Soviet Union with three colleagues and toured the nuclear research facilities at Dubna, Russia.[10] During his visit, Iyengar was impressed by the plutonium-fueled pulsed fast reactor.[10] Upon his return to India, Iyengar set about developing plutonium reactors approved by the Indian political leadership in January 1969.[10] The secret plutonium plant was known as Purnima,[11] and construction began in March 1969. The plant's leadership included Iyengar, Ramanna, Homi Sethna, and Sarabhai. Sarabhai's presence indicates that, with or without formal approval, the work on nuclear weapons at Trombay had already commenced.[10]
Secrecy and test preparations, 1972–1974
In December 1971, during the
On 7 September 1972, near the peak of her post-war popularity, Indira Gandhi authorised the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to manufacture a nuclear device and prepare it for a test.[5][page needed] Although the Indian Army was not fully involved in the nuclear testing, the army's highest command was kept fully informed of the test preparations.[10] The preparations were carried out under the watchful eyes of the Indian political leadership, with civilian scientists assisting the Indian Army.[2]
The device was formally called the
Development teams and sites
The head of this entire nuclear bomb project was the director of the
The overall project was supervised by
A. K. Ganguly, of the BARC, was the "Test" project chief of health and safety, as well as, chief of post "Test" scientific investigations programme.[17] As early as 1956, Ganguly was selected by Homi J. Bhabha, from his academic perch, at the University of Notre Dame, USA, where he had originated the Ganguly-Magee theory in Radiation Chemistry. During Ganguly's career in the BARC, Vikram A. Sarabhai selected him to lead the process of formation of the Ministry of Environment.[18]
The device was of the
Nuclear weapon design
Cross-section
The fully assembled device had a hexagonal cross section, 1.25 metres in diameter, and weighed 1400 kg.[2] The device was mounted on a hexagonal metal tripod, and was transported to the shaft on rails which the army kept covered with sand.[2] The device was detonated when Pranab R. Dastidar pushed the firing button at 8.05 a.m.; it was in a shaft 107 m under the army Pokhran test range in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan.[2]
Controversy regarding the yield
The
Iyengar has variously stated that the yield was 8–10 kt, that the device was designed to yield 10 kt, and that the yield was 8 kt "exactly as predicted". Although seismic scaling laws lead to an estimated yield range between 3.2 kt and 21 kt,[20] an analysis of hard rock cratering effects suggests a narrow range of around 8 kt for the yield,[2] which is within the uncertainties of the seismic yield estimate.[20]
Aftermath
Domestic reaction
Indian
The Pokhran test was a bomb, I can tell you now.... An explosion is an explosion, a gun is a gun, whether you shoot at someone or shoot at the ground.... I just want to make clear that the test was not all that peaceful.
— Raja Ramanna 1997, giving interview to Press Trust of India in 1997[2]
International reaction
While India continued to state that the test was for peaceful purposes, it encountered opposition from many quarters. The
Pakistan
Pakistan did not view the test as a "peaceful nuclear explosion", and cancelled talks scheduled for 10 June on normalisation of relations.
Canada and United States
The plutonium used in the test was created in the
New Zealand
New Zealand's PM Norman Kirk commented that, "The announcement of an underground nuclear explosion by India raises more urgently than ever the need for international agreement to end all nuclear testing."[28]
Subsequent nuclear explosions
Despite many proposals, India did not carry out further nuclear tests until 1998. After the 1998 general elections, Operation Shakti (also known as Pokhran-II) was carried out at the Pokhran test site, using technology designed and built over the preceding two decades.[5][29][page needed]
See also
- India and weapons of mass destruction
- History of nuclear weapons
- List of countries with nuclear weapons
- Pokhran-II
- P. K. Iyengar
Notes
- ^ This test has many code names. Civilian scientists called it "Operation Smiling Buddha" and the Indian Army referred to it as Operation Happy Krishna.[citation needed] According to United States Military Intelligence, Operation Happy Krishna was the code name for the Indian Army's construction of the underground site in which the tests were conducted.[citation needed] The Ministry of External Affairs designated the test as Pokhran-I.
References
- ^ a b FIles. "1974 Nuclear files". Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Nuclear files archives. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Smiling Buddha, 1974". India's Nuclear Weapons Program. Nuclear Weapon Archive.
- ^ NSG. "History of the NSG". Nuclear Suppliers Group. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Sublette, Carey. "Origins of Indian nuclear program". Nuclear weapon Archive. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-520-23210-5.[page needed]
- ISBN 978-93-5562-943-2.
- ISBN 978-0-520-23210-5. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "On to Weapons Development, 1960–67". India's Nuclear Weapons Program. 30 March 2001. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g "India's First Bomb: 1967-1974". The Nuclear Weapon Archive. 30 March 2001. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Purnima I-II-III". Nuclear Threat Initiative. 1 September 2003. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ "Arihant: the annihilator". Indian Defence Review. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- ISBN 978-81-87100-69-0. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- ISBN 81-7223-330-2.
- ISBN 0-520-21772-1.
- ISBN 978-0-393-05383-8.
- ^ Citation, Investiture ceremony (29 March 1975). "GOI". Investiture Ceremony: 35.
- ^ Anil Kumar Ganguly, The Evolution of Health Physics Science in India (1 January 2018). "Compendium of Memoirs". IARP, by Dr. M. R. Iyer: Pages 4 and 6.
- ^ "POKHRAN-I AND POKHRAN-II" (PDF). Information and Library Network, University Grants Commission, Govt. of India.
- ^ a b "What Are the Real Yields of India's Tests?".
- ^ a b c d "Reaction and Long Pause". Reaction and Long Pause. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ "History". Nuclear Suppliers Group. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
- ^ "Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)" (PDF). Nuclear Threat Initiative. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 May 2003. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
- ^ "Nuclear Deal: A chronology of key developments". The Indian Express. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ^ Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali (18 May 1974), Prime minister Secretariat Press Release, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and Pakistan Television (PTV), archived from the original on 18 September 2011,
India's so-called Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE) is tested and designed to intimidate and establish "Indian hegemony in the subcontinent", most particularly Pakistan...
- The Herald. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ "Ripples in the nuclear pond". The Deseret News. 22 May 1974. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ^ New Zealand Foreign Affairs Review. Vol. 24. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1974. p. 35.
- ISBN 978-0-7603-3502-4.