Smiling Buddha...the pathway to India's Nuclear Self-Reliance

Remembering the 50 Years of Pokhran-1, 18th May 1974

On 18th May 1974, India conducted its first nuclear test in the deserts of Pokhran, Rajasthan, Code-named 'Smiling Buddha' it was a peaceful nuclear explosion.

The test made India the world's sixth nuclear power after the United States, Soviet Union, Britain, France and China to successfully test a nuclear bomb.

The test was the product of India’s nuclear program in 1944. A team of 75 scientists and engineers worked on making the test a reality from 1967 to 1974.

The test caused widespread outrage not only because it caught the world by surprise but also because India is not a member of the permanent United Nations Security Council.

The US blocked aid to India and imposed numerous sanctions.

The device tested was a fission device that caused no release of radioactivity in the atmosphere.

Since then however, although India has still not joined the 1970 nuclear non-proliferation treaty, it has signed a nuclear deal with the United States. The rest of the world has also accepted India's status as a responsible nuclear power.