BUDDHA SMILES AGAIN…

Pokhran – II

We know Pokhran-II was the series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in May 1998.It was the second Indian nuclear test; the first test, code-named Smiling Buddha, was conducted in May 1974.

The site

Pokhran-II consisted of five detonations, of which the first was a fusion bomb and the remaining four were fission bombs. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states, including Japan and the United States.

On 11 May 1998, Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) was initiated with the detonation of one fusion and two fission bombs. On 13 May 1998, two additional fission devices were detonated, and the Indian government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee shortly convened a press conference to declare India a full-fledged nuclear state. 

Would surely recall the contribution of the great son of India, renowned scientist and Bharat Ratna President A P J Abdul Kalam and the then Defence Minister, George Fernandes, too.

The young readers of today would surely love to know how the global detective USA was tricked into not knowing about the tests and how they were conducted. They can watch the movie “Parmaanu” to understand the nitty gritties of the same.

Wishing you all a very Happy National Technology Day.