It was a defining moment in India’s modern history when a soft-spoken poet-statesman with an iron resolve chose to alter the strategic destiny of the nation.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, known more for his moderation and eloquence than muscular posturing, stunned the world by authorising the Pokhran-II nuclear tests despite fierce opposition and sustained pressure from the United States.

In the silent and windswept deserts of Rajasthan’s Pokhran Test Range, India executed one of the most secretive and sophisticated strategic operations of the twentieth century, successfully evading the surveillance of powerful American satellites and intelligence agencies.

The tests not only marked India’s formal arrival as a nuclear weapons state but also signalled the emergence of a more self-assured and strategically autonomous India willing to defend its national interests irrespective of global pressure.

Washington reacted sharply. Then US President Bill Clinton swiftly imposed sweeping economic sanctions on India immediately after the May 1998 nuclear explosions.

The punitive measures included suspension of foreign assistance, restrictions on defence cooperation and technology transfers, and opposition to multilateral financial lending to India through international institutions.

Yet, instead of bending India’s resolve, the sanctions ultimately reinforced New Delhi’s determination to pursue an independent strategic path.

Modi recalls Pokhran as symbol of national resolve

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday invoked one of India’s most defining strategic moments — the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests — to underline the country’s emergence as a confident and self-reliant global power under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Modi’s remarks were not merely a tribute to India’s nuclear scientists but also a reminder of how the Pokhran-II tests fundamentally altered India’s geopolitical standing, strategic doctrine and international identity.

While representing a premier English newspaper at Amritsar during that period, this writer had the opportunity to visit the Pokhran blast site shortly after the nuclear tests and also briefly meet Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Vajpayee appeared calm, composed and visibly confident........

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