Though India achieved Independence 70 years back, there were only few Prime Minister’s who really cared for the country and worked for its development. India was fortunate to have Prime Minister’s like PV Narsimha Rao who liberalized the Indian markets leading to massive jump in foreign investment. Similarly Atal Bihari Vajpayee was someone who set new records in development with telecom revolution, Highway revolution, and Nuclear programs which set the tone for India’s nuclear revolution.
India had a huge opposition from countries like America, China and Pakistan which did everything to stop the nuclear programs since decades. Nehru who never cared about securing the country, did not take the Nuclear issue seriously which made the country lag behind in defence nuclear programs. It was during the time of Vajpayee, the country really took interest in Nuclear revolution. Though PV Narsimha Rao tried his best to bring in developmental changes in the country, the party he was affiliated to was itself against him.
A report published on News18, has now revealed that PV Narshimha Rao was in favour of Nuclear programs in India and had supported Vajpayee on the same in 1996. Just before Vajpayee was about to prove his majority on the floor of the house, it is said that PV Narsimha Rao had passed a secret letter to Vajpayee which has revealed his support to him.
It is well known that America never wanted India to have a powerful man as the Prime Minister as it would dent their position as BIG BOSS. So, obviously America was much worried about Vajpayee being the PM of India who would support and take forward the nuclear program.In one of the conversation between then US ambassador to India Frank Wisner and Washigton, Wisner had disfavoured Vajpayee as the next Indian Prime Minister because “from the “body language of the BJP’s future PM Vajpayee there was an indication that he would favour a (nuclear)test”.
It was in 1996, President Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma appointed Vajpayee as the PM and asked him to prove his majority on the floor of the House. Just before the floor test, it is said that PV Narsimha Rao at the Rashtrapati Bhavan swearing-in ceremony had passes a secret chit to Vajpayee which said “now is the time to accomplish my unfinished task”. The task Rao had failed to accomplish during his premiership was nothing but nuclear rests at Pokhran.
But sadly, before Vajpayee could take up the nuclear program, he lost PM’s chair. Rao himself was a victim of the US pressure tactics to prevent Indian Nuclear tests during his tenure as PM.
According to some classified documents released by by National Security Archive (NSA) and Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP), Washington kept a close watch over the Indian test site and made serious efforts to head-off a feared test. Surveillance by US intelligence of at Pokhran was very intense. These documents which are now declassified and in public domain said that India had started the nuclear program sometime at the end of 1995. After satellite imagery made it clear that India was planning a nuclear test, Ambassador Wisner had warned the Rao’s office that such a move would backfire said the report. News18, report.
Wisner also met PM Rao’s principal secretary AN Varma, and showed him a satellite photograph of the test site and warned that a test would “backfire” against India. Later sometime in mid-December, President Bill Clinton spoke to Rao over phone and the PM assured him that India would act “responsibly”.
The letter also revealed that US used Japan’s influence to stop India from proceeding towards nuclear test. But after 1998 elections, Vajpayee was back and the first thing he did was to order the Nuclear tests to be conducted at Pokhran. It is said that this was one of the main reasons why Vajpayee government lost support for the second time in 1998.
These documents concede that “satellite imagery could have provided early warning but it was not analysed in time”. The US intelligence also admitted in these documents that having learned from the 1995 experience, the Indians, under strict instructions from Vajpayee’s National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra, had hidden their test preparations through a deception campaign, including far better concealment of the activities at Pokhran.
This is exactly why we say that Vajpayee government not just withstood external pressure but also internal pressure who were under the influence of western agencies and wanted to sabotage India’s nuclear program. Now we know how difficult it was for Vajpayee to survive the battle and take India forward.
Source: postcard
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