The United States of America is like that friend ‘jisko sabke kaam me ungli karne ki aadat hai’. Since it is a super power both by economy and military, one can’t just resist the US sanctions for a long time. And nobody can’t even think of fooling its intelligence agencies as proved when US raised sanctions on Iran for carrying out nuclear tests eventually banning nukes for the country.
But at one time, India also had tested its nukes and became a nuclear country without even a hint to the CIA. So, how does India managed to fool the CIA? Read on…
India wanted to conduct Nuclear Tests since 1995 but was thwarted twice by US spy satellites and CIA who warned India of dire consequences if it continued to go ahead with the nuclear tests.
Unfortunately, owing to the political instability of the Indian Government, the tests got delayed.
In 1998, India was getting ready to test its nuclear bombs the second time since 1974, and the CIA was monitoring each and every move.
When the Vajpayee government assumed power again in 1998, it was necessary to camouflage the tests with a complete veil of secrecy lest it is detected by spy satellites of CIA or the US spies within the Indian government itself.
FYI, the US spy satellites were so advanced that they could’ve even captured the time in a person’s wristwatch from the space. The crisp and sharp images of the satellites made it difficult for the government to carry out the tests during the daytime. India’s own satellites-imaging capability provided an edge over other spy satellites and gave them an understanding of what can and cannot be seen from space. Hence, the tests were conducted mostly during night time, in low light.
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was then the DRDO chief and Rajagopala Chidambaram was the Atomic Energy Chief. PM AB Vajpayee held a top secret meet with the men and other top DAE dignitaries. The meeting was so confidential that even George Fernandes, the then Defence Minister and other ministers of India, were not informed about this.
Since the scientists’ visit to the test site in Pokhran would raise suspicions, they were always camouflaged as military officers going to the site for routine visits.
Scientists worked during the night and carried on till wee hours of the morning to avoid detection by spy satellites. Also, the equipment used was moved back to its original place to give the impression they were never moved.
Also, India’s large corps of trained nuclear scientists and electrical engineers came in handy during the tests making the tests mostly indigenous, striking-off any possibility of foreign eavesdropping. The 58 Engineers were specially chosen for the crucial task of maintaining the shafts in which India’s nuclear devices would be tested. They were told to take all measures to ensure total secrecy.
Everything was code-named, even the scientists’ real names including conducting dummy exercises and disguise. Every trick in the bag was used.
The shaft used to test India’s hydrogen bomb, for instance, was known as the White House and risque was Taj Mahal – the code name for the shaft in which the atomic bomb was detonated.
In addition to this, since the desert site of Thar did not have any cover to offer, artificial sand dunes were shaped and aligned in the direction to wind to give the impression that they were naturally formed dunes.
Then during the time of tests, India launched a series of missiles, rockets and dropped experimental bombs to divert the attention of “snoopers” before conducting the tests.
The next two nights were dark nights with no moonlight. The other side, the world was sleeping. At the Chandipur flight test range, a series of 12 Trishul missiles were launched. Almost one launch every two hours. At the Island range at stealth launch pad, a simulated Agni launch preparations were going on in high intensity.
In Pokhran ranges, away from the action point, a number of rockets, PINAKA type, were put into action. At mid-day and evening, Air Force aircraft was bombarding with runway destruction bombs on experimental runways.
Somewhere in between all this, unknown to the f*king world except three f*king persons and their classified team, India successfully conducted its nuclear tests.
The next day, India woke up to the news that three nuclear tests had been conducted on the same day and another two the next day walking into the nuclear-armed group with swag.
Shortly after the tests, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave a press statement:
“Today, at 15:45 hours, India conducted three underground nuclear tests in the Pokhran range. The tests conducted today were with a fission device, a low yield device, and a thermonuclear device. The measured yields are in line with expected values. Measurements have also confirmed that there was no release of radioactivity into the atmosphere. These were contained explosions like the experiment conducted in May 1974. I warmly congratulate the scientists and engineers who have carried out these successful tests.”
The American intelligence community was embarrassed for failure in detecting preparations for the test. Economic sanctions followed soon, but they did little to deter the economic gains of India.
The clandestine nuclear test of May 1998, code-named Operation Shakti, was a result of impeccable astuteness and audacity by the Indian government.
