Operation Smiling Buddha was the code name for India's first successful nuclear bomb test, which took place on May 18, 1974, in the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan, India. The test made India the sixth nuclear power in the world. Operation Smiling Buddha, also known as Operation Happy Krishnaday,
The nuclear device used in the test was a plutonium implosion device, which had been designed and developed by Indian scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai. The test was carried out by a team of scientists led by Raja Ramanna, who was then the director of BARC.
The test was conducted at 8:05 a.m. local time, and the device had a yield of around 8 kilotons of TNT. The test was successful, and India became the sixth country in the world to possess nuclear weapons, after the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, and China.
The news of India's nuclear test was met with a mixed response. While some Indians celebrated the achievement as a major milestone in the country's history, others expressed concern about the possible arms race that could follow in the region. The international community also reacted strongly, with many countries condemning the test and calling for India to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In response to international criticism, India argued that the test was necessary for national security and that it had no intention of using nuclear weapons aggressively. India also refused to sign the NPT, arguing that the treaty was discriminatory and that it did not adequately address the security concerns of non-nuclear-weapon states.
The success of Operation Smiling Buddha marked a turning point in India's nuclear program, and the country went on to develop a nuclear triad of land, sea, and air-based nuclear weapons. Today, India possesses a credible nuclear deterrence capability, which is seen as a key component of the country's national security strategy.
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