Atal Bihari Vajpayee: A PM who made India defiant nuclear power

Mita Nath

(mitanathbora7@gmail.com)

On 16 October 1964 China detonated a 16-kiloton bomb, its first nuclear test, to enter the exclusive nuclear-armed State club. This was within two years after it attacked India. China's constant expansionist adventures at Indo-China borders, war threats and then an overt nuclear weapon state created an atmosphere of distrust amongst its neighbouring countries, including India. India on its part was maintaining a balanced peaceful environment. And as China tested its nuclear, while all other Indian leaders pondered for a solution, one man knew what had to be done. The then Rajya Sabha MP and Opposition leader of BJS (now BJP) Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke out in the Parliament days after China had conducted the tests - "The answer to an atom bomb is an atom bomb, nothing else."

Years later in 1974, India conducted its first nuclear test Pokhran-I when Indira Gandhi was the PM fully supported by the BJS. However, this wasn't enough to place India on the same page as other nuclear states. And Indira Gandhi called it a "peaceful nuclear explosion" to pacify the western powers and to avoid the threat of sanctions which didn't work anyway. The US continuously prevented India from conducting any further tests. It built up its pressure and kept control of the then Congress Government and via its CIA constantly monitored, spied and stalled India's nuclear attempts. Many prime ministers tried to revive nuclear research – most notably PV Narasimha Rao – only to surrender to American surveillance satellites and the threat of sanctions. In 1995, PM Narasimha Rao approved a nuclear test but it was aborted after the CIA detected suspicious movement at Pokhran. A report in the New York Times on December 15, 1995, forced the US Ambassador to New Delhi Frank Wisner to return to India with photographs of the hole being dug at the test site and caveats of impending sanctions if India went ahead with it. China meanwhile was sharing war technology and materials, including nuclear know-how with Pakistan.

It was only in 1998 when Bharatiya Janata Party came to power and Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the Prime Minister that nuclear tests were once again conducted. On May 11, 1998, at around 3:45 pm, India tested three devices – a thermonuclear device (Shakti I), a fission device (Shakti II), and a sub-kiloton device (Shakti III). On May 13, India detonated two more sub-kiloton devices – Shakti IV and V. The operation was conducted in such high secrecy that nobody except the then Home Minister LK Advani knew about it. The team operated at night to avoid the US spy satellites and drilled a tunnel only when these satellites turned the other way. They wore army uniforms to disguise themselves and bomb shafts were dug under camouflage. The nuclear devices were also flown from different parts of the country to avoid suspicion.

The tests were conducted so efficiently that US deputy secretary of state, Strobe Talbott found out about them only from CNN. The Clinton Administration was left furious. Days later Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared India a nuclear power state in May 1998. He was a man of words whose statement in 1964 in parliament was not a vague statement but a commitment. And true to his words he played a vital role in strengthening India's nuclear research throughout the years. Did Vajpayee play a role in thwarting China's attack plans and defeating its dream of subjugating India? Yes, he did.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described Vajpayee's decision to carry out the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998 as his "most enduring" contribution. On the neighbourhood front, Vajpayee "radiated goodwill and friendship" while being clear that terrorism and trust would not co-exist.

A transformational leader, Atalji's life and legacy remain immortal to date. Born on December 25, 1924, in the erstwhile princely state of Gwalior, Vajpayee was the first leader of the BJP to become Prime Minister. He served as Prime Minister thrice — first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999 and then for a full term between 1999 and 2004.

However, the strategic gains acquired by India during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime on the nuclear programme have been frittered away by Congress.

When the BJP Government under Shri Narendra Modi as PM came to power in 2014, India's nuclear power generation capacity was only 4,780 MW. Today the present BJP is not only increasing the number of nuclear plants but also making pan-India generation projects along with making more indigenous reactors. The nation is expected to have nine nuclear reactors by 2024 and a new nuclear project, it's first in northern India, Gorakhpur of Haryana. Nuclear power generation capacity in the country is expected to reach nearly 15,000 MW by 2024 as the government has expedited the process of setting up new plants. It acknowledges that in times to come nuclear energy will soon emerge as one of the most important sources of alternative or clean energy for the increasing power demand of the country.

The present government emphasises bringing a new thrust on framing policies that would serve India's national interest in the 21st century. It aims to follow a two-pronged independent nuclear programme, unencumbered by foreign pressure and influence, for civilian and military purposes, especially as nuclear power is a major contributor to India's energy sector. It plans to study in detail India's nuclear doctrine, and revise and update it, to make it relevant to the challenges of current times; maintain a credible minimum deterrent that is in tune with changing geostatic realities.