Smiling Buddha: 46 years of Pokhran-1 test that made India a nuclear power

In the scorching summer of May 1974, India decided to take a giant leap forward by conducting peaceful nuclear explosion, the operation aptly entitled, 'Smiling Buddha'. 

Today, India is observing the 46th anniversary of its first nuclear test in Rajasthan’s Pokhran. On May 18, 1974, India did it's the first nuclear test and presented itself as a nuclear power.

Smiling Buddha, the name of the operation signified that although India was conducting a nuclear explosion, it was not to threaten any other country but to ensure its own safety and power in the comity of nations. 

The test was named ‘Smiling Buddha’ because it was conducted on Buddha Purnima that year. According to reports, the message conveyed by Raja Ramanna, the director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi also said, “The Budda has finally smiled.”

India’s nuclear programme kicked off just a year after the Independence in 1948 with the formation of Indian Atomic Energy Commission under the Department of Scientific Research. 

During the initial years, the government of the day wanted nuclear energy to be used for peaceful or non-military purposes. The primary reason for the reluctance to assume an aggressive posture was that as a newly independent Third World nation, India did not want to be seen as an aggressor, particularly to neighbours like Pakistan and China.

Pokhran 1 was a landmark moment in India’s nuclear history. It showcased India’s long underlying intent to become a nuclear weapons state to a great extent, which was later realized fully in 1998 when the country became a full-fledged nuclear power. 

The test blunted Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions sent a message to and China and was also a message to every other nation – India shall not bend to the will of others. 

Pokhran-1 tests saw great coordination between two institutions - the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). These two institutions were developed over a period of several years to ensure that when the time comes and the situation demands, the scientific teams of these organizations are in a position to deliver successfully. 

In hindsight, Pokhran-1 also proved to be a litmus test for these institutions, which continue to be important cogs within India’s nuclear wheel. 

In 1988, India tested a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in May.