link : Operation Shakti- When India and Kalam Masterminded CIA’s Intelligence Failure
Operation Shakti- When India and Kalam Masterminded CIA’s Intelligence Failure
Source:-Operation Shakti- When India and Kalam Masterminded CIA’s Intelligence Failure
In 1974, when India first tested a nuclear device, the international reaction had been as harsh. India was treated as a pariah and ostracised for jeopardising the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968. India had refused to sign the NPT because it considered it discriminatory by dividing the world into those who have nuclear weapons (US, Soviet Union, France, Britain and China) and the have-nots (the rest of the world including India). While the haves were allowed to retain their nuclear weapons, the others were told to stay off. As a reward, the haves agreed to share nuclear technology to set up power plants with the have-nots but put them under severe safeguards and tasked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with monitoring them. India rightly termed the treaty an unfair agreement, which, if signed, would make Delhi vulnerable to nuclear blackmail, particularly by China, which defeated it in the 1962 war. India also argued that, while it was in principle against atomic weapons, the NPT in its current form would never fulfil its stated objective of rid-ding the world of nuclear weapons.
In the years following the 1974 tests, the US and Europe built an architecture of international restraint and constraint to prevent India and other aspiring countries from attempting to develop nuclear weapons. But the haves were guilty of double standards. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the US engaged Pakistan as a frontier state to fight a proxy battle to defeat Moscow. In return, apart from aid, it turned a blind eye to Pakistan’s nuclear philandering abetted by China. That laxity saw Pakistan build atomic weapons, more by crook than hook, and challenge India’s dominance by the end of the eighties.
Now-a-days we all can watch closely our buildings and roads on Google Earth/ Google Maps. It is basic satellite imagery and obviously we are fascinated by it.
But long before Google put its satellites in space and mapped the whole world, the USA had satellites in space already.
The year is 1998, and USA’s satellite image grabbing techniques were so advanced that they could easily take a clear picture of any live movement around the world.
Back then, India did not have the influence in World Politics as it does now. America was coochie-cooing with Pakistan and Pakistan was insecure about India’s foray into nuclear weapons.
In 1998, India was getting ready to test its nuclear bombs the second time since 1974, and the USA was monitoring each and every move.
Unlike the mountains in Pakistan, India’s nuclear test site was in Pokhran – a plain desert with no natural structures to offer cover
And that is why India took the help of the Indian Army in this matter, specifically the 58 Engineer Regiment.The sites would have to be prepared thoroughly for the nuclear testing, and that would mean moving trucks and construction equipment on the ground – something satellites can easily spot.
That’s why they did dummy exercises – FOR ONE AND A HALF YEARS. So, when the real exercise began, USA thought it was routine!.The civilian scientists like APJ Abdul Kalam never ever traveled to Pokhran with another scientist. They always traveled alone and always in military uniform
The military uniform would make spies think that they are regular military officers, and not civilian scientists. They never moved in groups.APJ Abdul Kalam headed the whole planning with Colonel Gopal Kaushik of the Indian Army.Work was done only at night. Equipment like trucks and drills were kept back in their original places by sunrise. The tire tracks were also removed by daylight
The preparation was meticulous. The shafts that were dug out for the underground test were also covered by camouflaged cloth and the electric wires and cables were covered with sand and native plants like small shrubs.The people involved in Operation Shakti used ridiculous code words such as White House for underground shafts
Code words like Taj Mahal and Kumbhakaran were also given. All the civilian and senior military officers also carried codenames. At one point it became so complicated, that conversations froze!
The team also did dummy tests. After each day of dummy testing, the Indian Intelligence agencies would listen for chatter, and stay alert.
They would be relieved if they didn’t hear any chatter, and they remained on high alert until the test day.
Finally on May 11, 1998, Indian authorities detonated 5 underground atomic bombs. USA was caught sleeping and was stunned by how India kept it in the dark
The 1998 nuclear explosions sent shock-waves across the world and hundreds of reporters, both Indian and foreign, flocked to Delhi to report on the biggest international news event. With the headlines of the test out, it was a challenge to gather data and break something new. My research on the book had shown that building nuclear weapons and conducting a test was not some-thing one did within the three months that Vajpayee had taken over as prime minister. So I began talking to the key scientists involved on how they planned the tests and conducted it without being detected by US satellites, which I knew had kept a 24×7 watch over the Pokhran range.
Operation Shakti was a resounding success !
The nuclear tests were successful, and USA didn’t have a clue that it was supposed to happen, with all their billion dollar fancy satellites and bragged about human intelligence inside Indian government.
India walked into the Nuclear Club with swag and I am so damn proud about it.
Source- India Today, Quora
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