Operation Smiling Buddha was India’s first successful nuclear weapons test, which took place on May 18, 1974, at the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan. Once again, India tested its nuclear weapons under a code-named Operation Shakti. On May 11, 1998, India conducted five nuclear tests at the Pokhran Test Range in the Thar desert.
How India Was Forced to create a nuclear weapon?
India was forced to create its nuclear weapons due to geopolitical pressure. In April 1965, Pakistan attacked the vast desert salt marsh region of Rann of Kutch. On August 5 to 6, 1965, Pakistan launched Operation Gibraltar, and the Pakistan army entered Kashmir. In response to the aggression, Mr Shastri gave orders to the Indian army to retaliate.
The war also created two geopolitical circumstances.
- Pakistan Got the support of China, and China is India’s neighbor.
- Pakistan expressed its desire to build its nuclear weapon. Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto told this openly.
Operation Smiling Buddha
To avoid further nuclear contamination, the test site should not show any presence of water at least 100 meters below the surface. A dry, secure L-shaped shaft to house the nuclear device was excavated by the 61st Engineers Regiment of the Indian Army under Lt. Col. P. Subherwal. Initially, they refused, citing their inexperience in digging the L-shaft.
The first dry well collapsed in November 1973, resulting in one death and injuring personnel. In January 1974, they found an aquifer, and the well became unusable. So, another shaft was excavated for the test.
At 08:05 a.m. Indian Standard Time, P.R. Dastidar pressed the button to initiate the neutron trigger. The explosion released energy, resulting in a mound of elevated Earth. The dome of Earth then fell, creating a crater on the test site.
A conventional implosion technique was used to initiate an explosion. The device was similar to that of the one dropped on Hiroshima, while its implosion design was modeled on Nagasaki’s bomb.
Yield of Operation Smiling Buddha
India didn’t make serious efforts to record the seismic shock without flaws. This lack of reliable data led to years of debate about the yield of the test explosion. After eight months, Dr Ramanna and Dr Chidambaram presented a yield estimate of 12 kilotons to the IAEA in Vienna. Later analysis claimed that the real yield will be between 8 to 12 kilotons.
Cost Of Operation Smiling Buddha
According to official estimates, the cost was $400,000 or 3.2 million rupees. These estimates excluded the cost of training, technical preparations, cost of medical care, site cleanup services, and water management.
A US-NATO mission report from June 1974 estimated the cost to be $10 million. The real figure is still unknown.
PM’s visit to the Pokhran test site
After seven months, on 22 December 1974, Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi visited the site with Homi Setna, K.C. Pant, Lieutenant Colonel Subherwal, and J.R.D. Tata. Mr Tata was not only a businessman but also a visionary member of A.E.C.I since 1962.
Operation Sakthi or Pokhran II
Between 11 and 13 May 1998, India conducted five successful nuclear tests at the Alpha test range of the Pokhran in Rajasthan. To maintain complete secrecy and avoid detection by foreign satellites, India made preparations without publicity. The first three explosions co-occurred at 3:45 p.m. on May 11, 1998.
The simultaneous tests include a 45-kiloton thermonuclear device, a 15-kiloton fission device and a 0.2-kiloton sub-kiloton device. Two more sub-kiloton devices were tested simultaneously on May 13. Their yield was 0.5 and 0.3 kilotons. A sixth nuclear device was also made, but it was not fired.
Each shaft was given a code name. The thermonuclear weapon shaft was named the “White House“. The second shaft was named the “Taj Mahal“. The shaft with the first sub-kiloton device was called “Kumbh Karna“.
During Shakti, the 58 Engineers of the Indian Army excavated the shafts. The excavated sand was dumped in the shape of dune forms to mimic the wind-aligned shape so that nobody would identify the new sand pile.
