Pokhran nuclear tests: A success story under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership

New Delhi, May 11: India jotted down a story of success on May 11 and May 13, 1998, when five nuclear tests were performed in Rajasthan's Pokhran under the guidance of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

After India's first nuclear test carried out on May 18, 1974, in Rajasthan's Pokhran, no nuclear tests took place till 1998.

Pokhran-II was the series of five nuclear bomb test explosions that consisted of five detonations, of which the first was a fusion bomb and rest were fission bombs.

The American spies in the sky some of which cost more than $1 billion were failed to focus on what was really occurring in the Indian desert even after taking pictures with high-resolution cameras and eavesdropping on telecommunications with electronic ears.

The Indian scientists disguised the activities, and sandstorms, a regular feature in the desert in summer, obscured the site.

The exercise was completely secret, only known to a few concerned.

May 11, 1998, was a regular day for Jaisalmer until it witnessed by a huge thunder that brought a loud cheer from a few scientists at the site who had kept a constant vigil on all the developments.

Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, the then Scientific Advisor to Vajpayee, sent a message on the hotline, saying, "Buddha smiles again".

Pokhran's successful tests have given India the moral, political and legal stand to convey to the world that it plays by the rules and will continue to do so.