| Smiling Buddha Pokhran-I | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Country | India |
| Test site | Pokhran Test Range |
| Coordinates | 27°04′44″N71°43′21″E / 27.0788°N 71.7224°E /27.0788; 71.7224 |
| Period | 18 May 1974, 8:05IST |
| Number of tests | 1 |
| Test type | Underground shaft |
| Device type | Fission |
| Max. yield | 8–10kilotons of TNT (33–42 TJ) |
| Test chronology | |
Smiling Buddha (MEA designation:Pokhran-I) was the code name of India's first successfulnuclear weapon test on 18 May 1974. Thenuclear fission bomb was detonated in thePokhran Test Range of theIndian Army inRajasthan. As per theUnited States military intelligence, the operation was named asHappy Krishna. The IndianMinistry of External Affairs (MEA) described the test as apeaceful nuclear explosion.
The bomb was built by scientists at theBhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) headed byRaja Ramanna, in assistance with theDefence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) headed byB. D. Nag Chaudhuri under the supervision of theAtomic Energy Commission headed byHomi Sethna. ACIRUSnuclear reactor given by Canada andheavy water (used as aneutron moderator) supplied by the United States were used in the production ofnuclear material for the bomb. The preparations for the test and the detonation was conducted in extreme secrecy with very few people outside the team of scientists being aware of the test.
The device was of theimplosion-type design with aplutonium core. It had a hexagonal cross section, 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) in diameter, and weighed 1,400 kg (3,100 lb). It was assembled, mounted on a hexagonal metal tripod, and was transported to the test site on rails. The test was conducted at 8.05IST on 18 May 1974. The data on the exactnuclear yield of the test has been varied and scarce, and sources indicate that the bomb might have yielded between six and tenkilotons.
It was the first confirmed nuclear weapons test by a nation outside thefive permanent members of theUnited Nations Security Council. The test led to the formation of theNuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to control nuclear proliferation. After the test, India carried out one other nuclear test namedPokhran-II in 1998.
The origins ofIndia's nuclear programme can be traced back to 1945 whenHomi Bhabha established theTata Institute of Fundamental Research with the aid ofTata Group. AfterIndian independence, the Atomic Energy Act was passed on 15 April 1948, that established theIndian Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC).[1] India was involved in the development of theNuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but ultimately did not sign it.[2] In 1954,Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was established which was responsible for the atomic energy development programme and was allocated a significant amount of the defence budget in the subsequent years. In 1956, the firstnuclear reactor namedAPSARA became operational atTrombay, becoming the first operating reactor in Asia.[3] ACIRUS reactor was given to India as a part of an understanding with Canada and theUnited States under theAtoms for Peace programme. India set up an indigenous programme to manufactureuraniumnuclear fuel for the reactor, as opposed to importing from other countries.[1] In July 1958, thenPrime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru authorized "Project Phoenix" to build a reprocessing plant with a capacity to produce 20 tons ofplutonium fuel a year using thePUREX process, designed by theVitro Corporation of America. The construction of the plutonium plant began in 1961, and it was commissioned in mid-1964.[1]
The civilian nuclear program to produce electricity from nuclear energy was also established during this period with plans to construct newnuclear power plants for the purpose. Nehru's discussions with Bhabha andKenneth Nichols, aUS Army engineer, showed his approach and intention to create nuclear weapons as a means ofdeterrence.[4] In 1962, India was engaged in awar with China and with China pursuing its own atomic development programme, it accelerated India's need to developnuclear weapons.[1] During this period, India signed an agreement withSoviet Union to help build nuclear reactors in India.[5]
With two reactors operational in early 1960s, Bhabha was involved in learning and development of know-how to manufacture nuclear weapons. The atomic energy act was amended in 1962 to give far more control to thecentral government. Bhabha was also aggressively lobbying for nuclear weapons and made several public speeches on the matter. He also estimated that a nuclear device with a 10kt yield would cost US$350,000. The reactors were not producing fuel at the expected rate and with Nehru's death in 1964, the programme slowed down.[6] The incoming prime ministerLal Bahadur Shastri was involved in theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965 and later appointed physicistVikram Sarabhai as the head of the nuclear programme. Because of his non-violentGandhian beliefs, Sarabhai was asked to direct the programme towards peaceful purposes rather than military development.[7] Meanwhile, the design work on the bomb proceeded under physicistRaja Ramanna, who continued the nuclear weapons technology research after Bhabha's death in 1966.[6]
After Shastri's death in 1966,Indira Gandhi became the prime minister and work on the nuclear programme resumed.Homi Sethna, a chemical engineer, put in charge of plutonium development. The project for the design and manufacturing of the nuclear device employed just 75 scientists because of the secret nature of the project.[7] Ramanna led the project withP. K. Iyengar serving as his deputy and the leadership team also included Sethna and Sarabhai.[8] The weapons programme was directed towards the production of plutonium rather than uranium and then in 1969, enough plutonium had been accumulated for the production of a single nuclear bomb.[6] In 1968–69, Iyengar led a team to the Soviet Union and toured the nuclear research facilities atDubna. Upon his return to India, Iyengar set about developing a plutonium fueledfast breeder reactor namedPurnima under Mahadeva Srinivasan. In 1969,R. Chidambaram was engaged for researching the use of plutonium.[9][10]
Simultaneous work on the fabrication of the bomb core andimplosion design was conducted by teams led by physicistV. S. Ramamurthy. The detonation system development began in April 1970 withPranab R. Dastidar collaborating withW. D. Patwardhan at theHigh Energy Materials Research Laboratory (ERDL) of theDefense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). In July, physicistB. D. Nagchaudhuri was appointed as the scientific adviser to theDefense Minister and as Director of the DRDO.[9] Nagchaudhuri and Ramanna worked together to recruit the team and set up the requirements necessary for a nuclear weapon test.Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) of the DRDO developed the explosive lenses for the implosion system. Srinivasan and K. Subba Rao were tasked with developing fission models and prediction of the test's efficiency. In April 1971, Nagchaudhuri appointed N. S. Venkatesan as the new Director of TBRL to help develop the implosion system.V.K. Iya was in charge of developing theneutron initiator system. In the same year, Sethna succeeded Sarabhai as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.[9]
In December 1971, during theIndo-Pakistani War, the U.S. government sent acarrier battle group led by theUSS Enterprise (CVN-65) into theBay of Bengal in an attempt to intimidate India. The Soviet Union responded by sending a submarine armed with nuclear missiles from Vladivostok to trail the US task force. The Soviet response demonstrated thedeterrent value and significance of nuclear weapons andballistic missile submarines to India.[11] After India gained military and political initiative over Pakistan in theIndo-Pakistani war of 1971, the work on building a nuclear device continued. The hardware began to be built in early 1972 and the Prime Minister authorised the development of a nuclear test device in September 1972.[12]
.png)
TheIndian Army was involved in the test preparations at thePokhran Test Range inRajasthan. The project was code namedOperation Smiling Buddha (MEA designation:Pokhran-I) while as per theUnited States military intelligence, the operation was named asHappy Krishna.[13] The preparations were carried by civilian scientists assisted by the Indian Army.[14] Indira Gandhi maintained tight control of all aspects of the preparations of the test, which was conducted in extreme secrecy. Besides Gandhi, only her advisersParmeshwar Haksar andD. P. Dhar were kept informed. Dhar had protested the test, fearing that the sanctions that would follow, would affect the Indian economy.[14][13] The Indian Defence MinisterJagjivan Ram was informed only a few days prior andSwaran Singh, theMinister of External Affairs, was given only 48 hours notice.[15][16]GeneralG. G. Bewoor,Indian army chief, andLieutenant-GeneralT. N. Raina, the commander ofIndian Western Command were the only military commanders who knew about the test.[14] The test was called aPeaceful Nuclear Explosive (PNE). The device was detonated on 18 May 1974 at 8.05IST withDastidar pushing the firing button.[14][17][18][19]
Thenuclear yield of the test has been difficult to determine with unclear data provided by Indian sources. Although politicians had given multiple numbers ranging from 2 kt to 20 kt, the official yield was initially set at 12 kt. Independent seismic data from outside and analysis of the crater features indicated a lower figure. Analysts estimate the yield at 4 to 6 kt, using conventional seismic magnitude-to-yield conversion formulas. Later, both Sethna and Iyengar conceded the official yield to be an exaggeration. Iyengar has 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".[14][20]
The device was of theimplosion-type design with a plutonium core, similar toFat Man, the American nuclear bombdetonated over Nagasaki in 1945. The implosion system was assembled at the TBRL of the DRDO inChandigarh. The detonation system was developed at the HEMRL of the DRDO inPune.[14] The 6 kg of plutonium came from the CIRUS reactor at BARC and the neutron initiator was of thepolonium–beryllium type, code-namedFlower. The entire nuclear bomb was engineered and assembled by Indian engineers at BARC before transportation to the test site. The fully assembled device had a hexagonal cross section, 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) in diameter, and weighed 1,400 kg (3,100 lb). The device was mounted on a hexagonal metal tripod, and was transported to the shaft on rails which the army kept covered with sand.[14][21]
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gained much popularity after the test, which had flagged from its heights after the 1971 war with Pakistan. The overall popularity and image of theCongress Party was enhanced and it was well received in theIndian Parliament. In 1975, Sethna, Ramanna and Nagchaudhuri were honoured with thePadma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award. Five other project members received thePadma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award. India consistently maintained that this was a peaceful nuclear bomb test and that it had no intentions of militarising its nuclear programme, but according to independent monitors, this test was part of an acceleratedIndian nuclear programme.[22] In 1997Raja Ramanna, speaking to thePress Trust of India, maintained:
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,to Press Trust of India in 1997[14]
While India continued to state that the test was for peaceful purposes, it encountered opposition from many quarters. TheNuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was formed in reaction to the Indian tests to check international nuclear proliferation.[19] The NSG decided in 1992 to require full-scopeIAEA safeguards for any new nuclear export deals, which effectively ruled out nuclear exports to India.[23] It was only waived as part of theIndo-US civilian nuclear agreement in 2008.[24]
The plutonium used in the test was created in the reactor supplied by Canada and usingheavy water (used asneutron moderator) supplied by the United States. Both countries reacted negatively, especially in light of then ongoing negotiations on theNuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the economic aid both countries had provided to India.[25] While Canada concluded that the test violated a 1971 understanding between the two states, and froze nuclear energy assistance for the two heavy water reactors then under construction, the United States concluded that the test did not violate any agreement and proceeded with a June 1974 shipment of enriched uranium for theTarapur reactor. New Zealand's Prime MinisterNorman 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."[26]
Pakistan did not view the test as a peaceful nuclear explosion, and cancelled scheduled talks with India. In June 1974,Prime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto said that Pakistan considered this as an intimidation and would not accept India's superiority in thesubcontinent.[27] In 2011,nuclear physicistPervez Hoodbhoy stated that he believed the test pressed Pakistan into developing nuclear weapons of its own.[28]
Despite many proposals, India did not carry out further nuclear tests until 1998. Code named asOperation Shakti (officially known asPokhran-II) was carried out at the Pokhran test site, using technology designed and built over the preceding two decades.[29][30]
India's so-called Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE) is tested and designed to intimidate and establish "Indian hegemony in the subcontinent", most particularly Pakistan...