25 years of Pokhran-2: Inside story of India's top secret, audacious 9-year op to build nuclear bomb

[@ThePrintIndia]

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[@RamanaYarasani]

I am trying hard to find links, when sekhar sir says links in the description below, but I don’t see them, like kakodar sir walk the talk interview. Could you please help me to locate.

[@AliB19]

laughable. "No seismic evidence of the May 13 tests has been found to date. Both tests on this date were reported sub-kiloton by the Indian government. Local villagers were not evacuated (as they were on May 11), and did not feel any tremors" lol No evidence for the failed May 13 test, yet you compare your weapons to Pakistan, where international observers saw seismic signals for May 28 and May 30? lol Don't believe me look up nuclear testing data for india and pakistan from seismo berkeley, an independent varifiable source of nuclear testing data. Hopefully this will bring some delusional indians into reality. haha

[@AliB19]

@@RamanaYarasani laughable. "No seismic evidence of the May 13 tests has been found to date. Both tests on this date were reported sub-kiloton by the Indian government. Local villagers were not evacuated (as they were on May 11), and did not feel any tremors" lol No evidence for the failed May 13 test, yet you compare your weapons to Pakistan, where international observers saw seismic signals for May 28 and May 30? lol Don't believe me look up nuclear testing data for india and pakistan from seismo berkeley, an independent varifiable source of nuclear testing data. Hopefully this will bring some delusional indians into reality. haha

[@pradeepsudarshan6117]

Vajpayee himself had said that Narsimha Rao was the true father of India's nuclear programme. When Rajiv Gandhi formed the secret committee, Narsimha Rao was India's foreign minister and he was kept informed about it. This turned out to be fortunate as he was able to take it forward when he became Prime Minister. This story is told in detail in the book "Half Lion" which is a biography of Narsimha Rao. The book also refers to Shekhar Gupta's interview with Narsimha Rao shortly before he died.

[@saud8329]

But didn’t India’s Gandhi start the whole thing by approving the first implosion which was the reason for the first set of sanctions from the west

[@AbhishekKumar2015]

I feel so proud listening to this story....... May God bless each and every soul involved in this work.... everyone right from its conception to the final outcome......and may God bless our country 🙏

[@BilluKhan-df9kr]

your god is cow hahahah china took ladakh.. cow only pissed

[@shyambajekal8084]

Really. Whenever I listen to such stories my eyes tear up out of pride for those great people. And by the way, I am lucky to have interacted one on one with Dr Kakodkar in 2019. It was with childlike enthusiasm that I spent the day with him!😁

[@georgeramapuram]

​@@BilluKhan-df9kr what is wrong with you?

[@BilluKhan-df9kr]

@@georgeramapuram whats wrong? are you christian? but cow is hindu god

[@srinivasraokaruturi9777]

truly phenomenal operation...shekar ji, i beg you to a 2 hr documentary on this. If you can get all the visual or audio aids etc, and takes too much effort, dont bother...just your narration on this subject will hold us glued and fill us with pride...Thank you for marking this wonderful anniversary...please do seriously consider doing a longer version. To do justice to the great men and women who were part of this....Phenomenal is an understatement!!! 🙏🙏🙏

[@ThePrintIndia]

It is a wonderful suggestion, Srinivas ji. I will certainly keep it mind. Thank you for this...best wishes, Shekhar

[@shikharsrivastava6263]

The journey of Pokharan 2 is an account of how mature our democracy is. We kept the biggest secret hidden in that time when we had worst political instability. A story which brings pride to every Indian ❤

[@va8085]

Naman to our patriotic bhoomiputras - Atalji, Kalam sir & rest of our scientific team 🇮🇳

[@VikasKumar-co8mr]

both the test started by farsighted Gandhi

[@va8085]

@@VikasKumar-co8mr oh please. We saw what the family did with the likes of Bhabha. Indira was the only sane patriotic one but after creating the monster called Bhindrawale, she lost respect.

[@tapemaj]

Oh Brilliant saga … kept me gripped all through . “ Buddha indeed smiled twice “ without his disciples knowing aa to what’s going on .

[@abhishekdesai965]

Prime example of what happens when people in power keep nation and its interests ahead of politics enimity. Kudos to the team who worked pull of this miracle. Wishing you luck for more achievements 🎉

[@mdirtydogg]

Well said. National interests over political interests.

[@sankalp6872]

Dr. Anil Kakodkar is a Konkani by birth. He hails from India's smallest state. He spent years across many geographies. It's remarkable to see him lead such a vital program.

[@anandbs7290]

Just one more bit of information... Dr. Anil Kakodkar studied from Karnatak College Dharwad

[@Suresh_Kamath]

Being from Karnataka and Konkani, I am surprised I never knew this.

[@rakeshnipanikar2316]

He is Marathi.

[@sankalp6872]

@@rakeshnipanikar2316 Nope. He is a Goan. His father was a Goan freedom fighter. Similar case as Rajdeep Sardesai. You can keep Rajdeep for Maharashtra. Goa will be happy with that.

[@coolhkj07]

Just love it when Shekhar sir goes into story mode. Loved hearing about things that happened when I was 3 years old

[@HANAMANTKULKARNI-o9w]

Simply beautiful. I am proud of our democracy. I am delighted to hear this CTC.

[@kapiltewari1562]

I requested this few weeks back and today SG delivered. Thanks a lot. Najam Sethi in one of his interviews mentioned that you both were in a third country when India announced itself as Nuclear Armed. If You could share few stories from that exact day and how you felt when you heard it for the first time.

[@vaibhavgupta7197]

In India , we may fight brutally amongst ourselves, but when it come's to motherland, no one gives second thought about what's best and necessary for the country. I think, this has made all the difference.

[@JohnSmith-vn8dm]

Pokrahan 2 seems like a great example of what a country can do when its unified with a collective mission. Good lesson for partison politicians today, not just in India, but in the whole world.

[@kaushal548]

That's out of the box from regular rasgullas you give to your guest. Excellent from @ThePrint .

[@sarvajeetmukherjee3290]

... a Beautiful Presentation indeed Sir . As a student of Physics , i happen to know that preparing for a nuclear test and covertly takes a lot of time and effort . i have heard people say that they could have done the test earlier . Unfortunately, they are laymen and should not be blamed , rather they should be politely corrected . Preparing for a nuclear test is nothing like building a new fighter jet , it is far more complex and an extremely complicated matter , especially if one is trying to do one covertly. Thank You Sir , for a lucid Presentation of the entire story which proved the mettle of not only our scientists but also the key Politicians from seemingly rival parties who stood together for the National Cause, a Remarkable example of continuation of National Policy across Governments. They chose to stand together for the National Cause. This is what my India is . Satyameba Jayate . PS : Sir , if it would be possible please take a lecture on the IPKF failure and events leading to it including the reasons for formation of the LTTE . Your Presentation would be of Great help for interested students and people like me to get a lucid overview of the series of Events that ultimately lead to the assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi . Thanking You in Advance .

[@tarantinofan8947]

oppenheimer dekhna

[@sarvajeetmukherjee3290]

@@tarantinofan8947 : Thank You for the excellent suggestion Brother . i would , on my part urge you to read the book 'Brighter than a Thousand Suns' by Robert Jungk. This book was suggested to us as a casual read by our Teachers at Presidency College ( now University) Kolkata way back in the early 90's. It reads like a fast paced thriller, a thriller that documents facts . There are some discrepancies , but those are minor . For example, Robert Jungk claims that Warner Heisenberg , who the allies thought was leading the German Atomic Programme , did not sympathize with the dreadful Nazi Idealogy because he hated Hitler. It is true that Heisenberg , who was an advocate of Theoritical Physics hated Hitler. Hitler, an abomination of a Human being ,wanted to destroy all Theoritical Physics because he felt that it was Jewish Science , a claim that is absurd and bizarre. However Heisenberg did sympathize with the horrible Nazi ideology and did it even after the war . These apart , the book is indeed a gratifying read . It tells us a story of team work , and of horrible censorship which left truly noble men like Oppenheimer for ever broken after the war . Einstein, who was not even a part of the team that was involved in the Manhattan Project and therefore not a witness to the test explosion at Almo Gordo Airbase ( recall the famous quote from the Bhagwat Gita as narrated by Oppenheimer who along with his fellow team members were witness to the blast : I am the destroyer of worlds ... ) and whose consent was used as an excuse for using the weapon on the Japanese was extremely disturbed and it affected him for the rest of his life because his name was associated with a crime against humanity. Thanks again Brother for your kind suggestion ...

[@sarvajeetmukherjee3290]

@@tarantinofan8947 : perhaps the hatred of the Nazis for anything Theoritical involving Science and Mathematics was because they crudely associated Abstract Mathematics and Theoritical Physics with the Jews , something that is not only bizarre but also apalling. The Nazis single handedly destroyed German Science and reduced it to an empty shell . The German loss contributed to the gain of America who sheltered people like Einstein, Gödel , Fermi , John von Neumann, Emily Noether to name a few ...

[@ThePrintIndia]

Thank you for the suggestion, Sarvajeet. It is indeed something to consider. I'm glad you liked this episode. Do keep watching and writing in...best wishes, Shekhar

[@sarvajeetmukherjee3290]

@@ThePrintIndia: ... Thank You So Much for Your Kind Appreciation, Sir ...

[@theindian2226]

Thanks, Mr. SG for your insightful discourse. We salute all our great leaders from Nehru to Modi who brick by brick have been building our nation India We also salute all Scientists, Civil Servants, Diplomats, and Military Officials for their immeasurable contributions. As far as Nation and its Security and integrity are concerned, we are ONE, no Congress, no BJP only INDIAN Jai Hind Vande Mataram

[@abhigyat143]

Rocket boys has exponentially increased my interest in this story. Thanks for sharing SG!

[@surendrabarsode8959]

Thanks Shekhar for this wonderful recap of the events leading finally to the nuclear tests! A glorious chapter in our recent history.

[@mayankgangwal24]

There's a visible difference between narration of a cut the clutter episode & a national interest episode. While cut the clutter is more of a spontaneous news reading, National interest is written down and is read as is. This episode of CTC is like National interest.

[@diwakarsharma5542]

I feel so proud listening to this. Looks like our politicians realize their responsibility at the highest level. Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!

[@trs-therightsound3486]

Kuchh baat to hai is mitti mein ki kitna bhi bura dost, ristedaar ya smaaj hi kar de apne saath. Is mitti ko daga koi nahi deta. Yahan to bas hindustani bachche paida hotein hain, kuchh acche to kuchhe gande.. Ek baar yeh bachche mitti chhor dein magar even the deadliest of gangsters feels emotional about serving the soil. I am always proud of India and my brothers and sisters.

[@bpi8940]

This episode should be shown in every schools and universities 🇮🇳 🇮🇳 🇮🇳

[@ranjitkamath2417]

We love you SG, Thanks for bringing this episode, should have been a 2 series episode, you cut it really short. Kudos too all who made it possible, we are indeed proud of them. Can you do a additional series of on which type of Nuclear Bombs we have vis a via Pakistan

[@lotuslotus8207]

Comparison Between N Bomb Of Pakistan vs India 🇮🇳

[@TheOpposition]

Dear Shekhar Ji, I was deeply intrigued and captivated by your account of India's journey to nuclear self-sufficiency. You are right, it is a saga that deserves its own book. As citizens of this nation, we are all indebted to the brilliant scientists, visionary politicians, and dedicated administrators who made this achievement possible. Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, A.B. Vajpayee, administrators like Chandra ji, Mishra ji and many others played crucial roles in this journey. I am grateful to you for sharing this story with us. It is a reminder of the strength and resilience of our nation, and the power of human ingenuity.

[@abhijitdeshmukh6902]

Got goosebumps while listening this! Salute to all who were involved!!

[@harshsatya1982]

Fascinating story. I felt good about our political leadership, the bipartisanship political leadership. Thank you for narrating this story.

[@noknok7447]

21 thundering guns salute to leaders scientists army and personnel involved for this phenomenal contribution 🇮🇳

[@pichumanisankar2617]

One of the rare instances of politicians of all hue deserve bouquets.🎉🎉

[@egg-h4b]

I doubt today there is anyone left in Congress that can show this level of integrity and maturity while being in power.

[@freesoul3466]

There are, it's not always what bjp says about Congress

[@sathiskumark7497]

Excellent Sir. Listened this multiple times . Goosebumps never came down . One of your best CTC

[@jsshenoy204]

A great story indeed by the master storyteller. Thanks to Shekhar for remembering the forgotten heroes of May 11, 1998, who made India proud.

[@ThePrintIndia]

Thank you for the kind words. There are some days and incidents that one never forgets. This was one of them. I'm glad you enjoyed this episiode...best wishes, Shekhar

[@sven_86]

Proud of my country. Jai Hind!

[@AkashVora]

Unusual picture of Sonia similing with Chandrshekhar ji. 14.39

[@bambu3954]

Great stuff SG. You are a master story teller, great to have a senior journalist like you with a repository of such knowledge

[@pgtvrivall1109]

Arunachalam, iyengar, chidambaram, kalam, santhanam, balachandran- all Tamils

[@princeofheaven19]

Mostly tamil brahmins

[@foxbat296]

This is one of the best CTC episodes

[@nitinbhaktavatsal5886]

Bugger was condemning this and now praising. What a bloody chameleon.

[@UPSC_poetry]

Kudos sir..following you since 2019

[@husaindaud5569]

The more SG explained the prouder i am, thanks to so many citizens for being so loyal.

[@sanjaythomasjohn]

If someone hits a stone 50 times to break it one can't say that it was just the 50th hit that broke the rock. Something people who keep attributing Pokhran 2 to Vajpayee will never understand. Thank You Sekhar Ji for this episode.

[@ranjitkamath2417]

Good Point,

[@pp_01123]

But Vajpayee also deserve the credit! As he was perhaps second last after Dr Singh who worked for country above party lines. People also belive that India was nothing before 2014 :P (sometimes we should hear and smile at them)

[@indian9632]

Agree. Just like some think all credit should go to Gandhi and nehuru for Indias freedom

[@bimasu]

@@indian9632 excellent

[@bimasu]

But surely it took a Vajpayee (and a BJP that had the guts in those days to publicly declare in their manifesto) to actually conduct the tests.

[@lookingfordevinepeace]

All of this secrecy in just one sentence. “ desh phehle “ baki sab badme. “Desh rehna chahiye “

[@utkarshsrivastav6693]

Very mature politicians and all the working people.. this should be the zeal of finding something

[@neerajbv3596]

Shekharji good information. Great presentation 👏

[@koibatnahi4683]

Wow! It was expected from the scientists but those temporary PMs supporting the largest objective is credit worthy. Hats off to you SG for yet another gripping tale of our country.

[@manmohanmehta5697]

Amazing National Interest true nationalists Thankyou all with bowed head . Shaker ji you are amazing to choose this story on the most appropriate day. Thank you .

[@aniruddhans3033]

14:26 that is why I love your show sir

[@Tryingtobringchange]

simply mesmerizing. What a treat!

[@shyambajekal8084]

Remarkable. All this has been beautifully depicted in the movie Parmanu, starring John Abraham and others. It's a beautiful film, must watch!! As for the mole, according to the movie it was just negligence on the part of the team and not some one person giving out the secrets. And yes, Shekhar himself should write the book that he mentioned in the beginning.

[@AbhishekSharma-sw9rj]

Not enough like buttons... a very short video for such an elaborate story. Need to have more of it.

[@Karthik-cg1dd]

One of the best CTC episode It would have been even better if it would have been longer.

[@muralimoghan2168]

Great to be a Indian Jai Hind

[@VijeDerm]

Sg simply “Wow” to these guys dedication hatsoff. Good that you brought out this CTC

[@emporerofindia]

One of the best CTCs.

[@cvsarat]

The movie Pokhran even though exaggerated depicts your theory. Do watch it once! brilliant pick of a CTC invoking bipartisan nationalism amidst the current cacophony.

[@anamikasharma537]

If only we had more visionaries and sensible people at the higher levels, in all fields of science, sports, medicine. We could be a superpower in all areas.

[@R--AngadSahota]

That is a great story to tell. Thanks SG

[@Organic.Mechanic]

Its clear as water people still live for this great country so that we can roam around freely keeping our heads held high this spirit which lives in the heart of people is why we will go further and become a super power not because we were destined to or because we were a great power in the past but because we owe so much to these people who live on their meagre salaries with no recognition just soldier on to make this country what our forefathers envisioned this country to be saare jahan se achha hindustan hamara.

[@Gurmukkh]

Keeping such a secret for such a long time. Great job.

[@mdirtydogg]

Thank you, Mr Gupta, for this fascinating and insightful episode. I wish it went on for another hour

[@Simplify_Lives]

Good one Shekhar! Only if politicians today could place the nation first, once again like earlier times!

[@ud1976]

Super story. Filled with exclusive nuggets and anecdotes. Could you please do an episode analyzing the value of doing the tests in light of the fact that 1. Pakistan did their tests right away and 2. It appears to not have stopped hot wars from occurring.

[@HemantShete]

So inspiring... Respect 🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@dineshkumarbharadwaj8036]

👍 coverage! Felt 🥹, when a general debate outside IAEA 2003, asking me where Is Buddha 😊 person ? 🙏to Atalji vision…

[@anupammajmudar6752]

Me.Gupta has stressed only administrative issues and how were they overcome, but what about technical/ scientific side. How Plutonium was got hold of in spite of heavy international sanctions, how weapon was fabricated and how it was transported through escaping satellite’s range. How the entire operation was kept secret even from Atomic Energy Sceintific community. We in BREC, did not know of any development till we read next day. It seems that for likes of Mr Gupta, movements of files is the only thing that matters

[@rinmulder2008]

I congratulate you on doing this 25th anniversary of this landmark event. We were at school and all remember the short but electrifying announcement from Vajpayee

[@pratapmane692]

Always love SG’s storytelling, bang on ❤😊

[@harisundar8698]

Incredible story ❤️

[@sudarshanpise8421]

this is awesome .. Thanks Sir !! really nice episode !!

[@nirajdar6343]

Jai hind !!!

[@karthiksurendran6831]

जय हिंद दोस्तम ! 🦚🐯🇮🇳

[@pichumanisankar2617]

Yet again one more absorbing episode of CTC 👍

[@stateheadtnmercelys6045]

Good reading (hearing) James Hardele Chase. Salute to our matured politician of those years. Good night

[@shabarinathrao]

So less about Atalji n his team.. while so much on others.. interesting

[@JS-zc2jr]

Fascinating 😎 #ThePrint #ShekharGupta

[@auntyLko]

Now I understood what NaMo meant when he said that All PMs have contributed to the current India in his first ever speech at the Loksabha in 2014. It’s fascinating

[@ytadltspv]

the prob. is that he believes their 'contribs' are nothing compared to his 'boons' to the country!

[@VijayKumar-dn4pz]

Fascinating stuff. Thank you.

[@arindamkumar7725]

I am so glad that SG made a CTC on the nuclear arms test

[@deepakkatare4879]

One of the best episodes 👍

[@the_Nameless_One99]

Thank you for a great episode, sir. I had hoped that today's episode would be SC focused as we got two important rulings - one regarding the change of government in Maharashtra and one regarding the CM's powers in Delhi. At first glance, it looks like both the rulings went against the BJP's interests. However, it is hard to find unbiased sources regarding these judgements, hence my hopes of a CTC episode on these. Moreover, including the fascinating daily live-telecasted hearings that have been happening on the legalisation of homosexual marriages in the SC, there was more than enough material for an episode, if not more. But, this episode was fascinating enough. Kudos to you and your team. Regards,

[@harshrajsanghvi6723]

Remarkable !!

[@hims01]

It goes on to prove that nationalism is not a preserve of one political party. No matter how polarized it looks from outside. Most leaders who make it to the national level are utmost patriots - they may share different ways of expressing.

[@voicification]

Given that Inder Gujral is known to have handicapped R&AW network in Pak during his tenure in a naive misguided attempt to make peace with our neighbor to the west, I find it remarkable that even he managed to keep the nukes secret. Would love to have a CTC on IKG

[@gunjaneighteen]

Wonderful storytelling Shekhar, it's like I'm watching a movie.

[@Evan3783]

Great content! Two mics?

[@shmakn99]

Sir bilkul poetic ho jate hai kabhi kabhi

[@aayushswastik6546]

Well I had goosebumps

[@dhanjeepandey4252]

P1 and p2 good job.....but India needs more human development... than nuclear development.......👍👍

[@animalspirit77]

Truly inspiring! 🇮🇳

[@ARUNAGURRAM-yd1mq]

We love story telling

[@ViksterG]

Its crazy how much south Indians have contributed to India's growth and progress.

[@offred6013]

Oh I thought It was Indians who were working on it but thanks for letting me know it was south Indians

[@ViksterG]

@@offred6013 Hey you're welcome!

[@offred6013]

@@ViksterG Ok retard.

[@shahstandfortruth5691]

Fascinating story

[@GururajBN]

Remarkable story of secrecy. I would say that today’s political atmosphere is far more vitiated. Too much selfishness and focus on electoral goals. India may not be able to replicate that faithfulness.

[@Zethuzzz]

Indian politics and politicians can be quite mature if they want to ( this case being an example). It’s unfortunate that it doesn’t happen regularly

[@deeyarshree]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@NaveenKumar-xs5ie]

Thankyou

[@bimasu]

Why does SG’s narration leave an impression of “Look, everyone from Rajiv worked on this, don’t give the credit to the Vajpayee government alone”.? -Even though it is obvious to everyone that it must have been years in the making, what with the tests happening within weeks of government formation.

[@manojsjoshi]

Well documented and lucid narration. BJP was the (only) party to have this ambition drafted in their manifesto.

[@rajeevbhatnagar6495]

A story well told. Thanks.

[@biluvarghese6371]

Great Story

[@psychotormentor3278]

can't imagine today.....what with the opposition leader literally sitting in the enemy's lap

[@Anurag-xe2jp]

Sonia gandhi and all her associates had condemned it even then.