“Buddha is smiling” was the codeword for the Pokhran 2 nuclear tests of 1998. It heralded India’s entry into the nuclear club in the proper sense of the word. Even though Pokhran 1 was a start, the testing of a thermonuclear device along with a fission device was a major achievement as H Bomb technology is out of the purview of wannabe nuclear states such as Iran and North Korea.
The questions to be answered are: Why now Dr Santhanam has brought up this issue after 10 years in the cold. The Indo US Nuclear deal is nearing completion and it will as a result bring about restrictions to our civilian nuclear program. The world is moving towards ratifying the Comprehensive Test ban treaty (CTBT) which prevents over ground testing of nuclear devices and the Fissile material cut off treaty. There is obvious pressure from the Hillary Clinton visit recently for India to come under the CTBT and NPT regime sooner rather than later.
A curious fact is that the fission device has been weaponised while the so called H bomb is nowhere near weaponisation. In defence of Santhanam, one could ask if the Indian nuclear establishment is not confident enough to transfer technology for weapons integration to say the DRDO? India immediately after Pokhran 2 announced a clear “no first use policy” and a permanent moratorium on testing. One needs to examine whether the so called minimum nuclear deterrent that has been projected to the Indian people by successive governments was achieved at all. Our neighbours have not committed to any such doctrine and in case of a first strike, the Indian strategy is seen as taking out all urban centres in enemy territory to inflict maximum damage. This would require a higher tonnage weapon than the fission device.
Dr Chidambaram has aggressively refuted any claim of a failure. But he as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1998 rushed to pronounce the success of the tests. He was subsequently awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award. Was there a rush to garner all the limelight from Chidambaram’s side? And as a result has it compromised India’s deterrence?
The 1974 team headed by Dr P K Iyengar has also rubbished claims of a successful thermonuclear test in 1998. But doubts have been raised about the yield of the 1974 tests as well.
Then, the need of the hour is to urgently weaponise the thermonuclear device to achieve the minimum nuclear deterrent against external aggression. There is already a yawning gap in the due date and delivery schedules of our missiles and other weapon systems. There are clearly no winners in this debate and washing dirty linen in public is only going to harm the morale of the armed forces. It is time for these people to clarify and more importantly deliver the much needed systems for the protection of our borders. For now, Buddha really seems to be frowning.
