In May 1998, India shocked the world—as well as many of its own citizens—by detonating five nuclear weapons in the Rajasthan desert. This landmark act raised central questions: Why did India pursue nuclear weapon status at a time when 149 nations had signed a ban on nuclear testing? What prompted India’s new Hindu nationalist government to depart from decades of nuclear restraint? And how…
In May 1998, India shocked the worldand many of its own citizensby detonating five nuclear weapons in the Rajasthan desert. Why did India bid for nuclear weapon status at a time when 149 nations had signed a ban on nuclear testing? What drove India's new Hindu nationalist government to depart from decades of nuclear restraint, a control that no other nation with similar capacities had displ…