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For Indian nuke scientists, spring comes in the month of May

Lord Buddha, the month of May and nuclear devices -- is there any connection between the three? Yes, it would appear so, if you are talking in the Indian context.

The first time India tested an atomic device was 24 years ago, on May 18. It was then termed as a 'peaceful nuclear implosion' and the yield was estimated at 19 kilo tonne TNT -- an equivalent of 19,000 tonnes of dynamite.

Ironically, the first Pokhran implosion, during Indira Gandhi's tenure, was codenamed Smiling Buddha.

In the midst of the Rajasthan desert, at the same Pokhran, India has now triggered off three devices -- again, in the month of May. The test also coincided with Buddha Poornima, an occasion to mark Lord Buddha's attainment of enlightenment.

On the political side, the Pokhran implosion coincided with Jayaprakash Narayan's launching his Citizens for Democracy movement to campaign against corruption which saw Indira Gandhi declaring a state of Emergency a year later on June 25, 1975.

India is the only non-nuclear country in the world to conduct nuclear tests after 1974. France and China have conducted underground tests in violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which India has refused to sign.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty of 1997, an advancement over the NPT, with a 1999 deadline only bans conducting nuclear tests over the earth's surface -- not underground.

UNI

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