As tensions escalate in the India-Pakistan conflict of 2025, we look back at a defining moment in India’s defense history-former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s powerful statement following the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. In this video, we revisit Vajpayee’s address to the Lok Sabha, where he paid tribute to India’s scientists and defense personnel, outlined the evolution of India’s nuclear policy, and spoke on India’s commitment to national security, restraint, and global responsibility. WATCH.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Now the Honourable Prime Minister will make this statement.
00:30On the 11th May, India successfully carried out three underground nuclear tests.
01:00Two more underground tests on the 13th May completed the planned series of tests.
01:12I would like this house to join me in paying a full tribute to our scientists, engineers
01:18and defense personnel whose similar achievements have given us a renewed sense of national
01:27pride and self-confidence.
01:30Sir, in addition to the statement I make, I have also taken the opportunity to submit
01:37to the house a paper entitled Evolution of India's Nuclear Policy.
01:43In 1947, when India emerged as a free country to take its rightful place in the committee
01:54of nations, the nuclear age had already dawned.
01:58Our leaders then took the crucial decision to opt for self-reliance and freedom of thought
02:05and action.
02:06We rejected the Cold War paradigm and chose the more difficult path of non-alignment.
02:14Our leaders also realized that a nuclear weapon-free world would enhance not only India's security,
02:22but also the security of all nations.
02:25That is why disarmament was and continues to be a major plank of our foreign policy.
02:34During the 50s, India took the lead in calling for an end to all nuclear weapon testing.
02:40Addressing the Lok Sabha on 2nd April 1954, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, to whose memory we pay homage
02:49today, he stated, I quote, Nuclear, chemical and biological energy and power should not be used
03:00to forge weapons of mass destruction.
03:03Quotation closed, he called for negotiations for prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons,
03:12and in the interim, a standstill agreement to halt nuclear testing.
03:18This call was not heeding.
03:21In 1965, along with a small group of non-aligned countries, India put forward the idea of an international
03:30non-proliferation agreement, under which the nuclear weapon states would agree to give up their arsenals,
03:37provided other countries refrained from developing or acquiring such weapons.
03:44This balance of rights and obligations was not accepted.
03:49In the 60s, our security concern deepened.
03:53The country sought security guarantees, but the countries we turned to were unable to extend
04:00to us the expected assurances.
04:02As a result, we made it clear that we would not be able to sign the NPT.
04:08The Lok Sabha debated the issue on 5th April 1968.
04:15Since 1968, Prime Minister, late Srimati Indira Gandhi, assured the House that, I quote,
04:23we shall be guided entirely by our self-enlightenment and the considerations of national security,
04:30unquote.
04:31This was a turning point, and this House strengthened the decision of the Indian government by reflecting
04:38a national consensus.
04:41Our decision not to sign the NPT was in keeping with our basic objectives.
04:47In 1974, we demonstrated our nuclear capability.
04:52Successive governments thereafter have taken all necessary steps in keeping with that resolve
04:59and national will to safeguard India's nuclear option.
05:03This was the primary reason behind the 1996 decision for not signing the CTBT,
05:10a decision that also enjoyed consensus of this House.
05:15The decades of 80s and 90s had meanwhile witnessed the gradual deterioration of our security environment
05:24as a result of nuclear and missile proliferation.
05:27In our neighborhood, nuclear weapons had increased and more sophisticated delivery systems inducted.
05:36In addition, India has also been the victim of externally aided and abevitated terrorism,
05:42militancy and clandestine wars.
05:45At a global level, we see no evidence on the part of the nuclear weapon states to take decisive and irreversible steps
05:56in moving towards a nuclear weapon-free world.
05:59Instead, we have seen that the NPT has been extended indefinitely and unconditionally, perpetuating the existence of nuclear weapons
06:09in the hands of the five countries.
06:12Under such circumstances, the government was faced with a difficult decision.
06:17The touchstone that has guided us in making the correct choice clear was national security.
06:24These tests are a continuation of the policies set into motion that put this country on the path of self-reliance of thought and action.
06:34India is now a nuclear weapon state.
06:39This is a reality that cannot be denied.
06:44It is not a conferment that we seek, nor is it a status for others to grant.
06:51It is an endowment to the nation by our scientists and ingenious.
06:55It is India's view, the right of one-sixth of humankind, our strength and capability acts to our sense of responsibility.
07:05We do not intend to use these weapons for aggression or for mounting threats against any country.
07:12These are weapons of self-defense.
07:15To ensure that India is not subjected to nuclear threat or coercion, we do not intend to engage in arms race.
07:23We have taken a number of initiatives in the past.
07:27We regret that these proposals did not receive a positive response from other nuclear weapon states.
07:35In fact, had their response been positive, we need not have gone in for our current testing program.
07:43We have been and will continue to be in the forefront of the calls for opening negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention so that this challenge can be dealt with in the same manner that we have dealt with the scourge of two other weapons of mass destruction through the biological weapons convention and the chemical weapons convention.
08:05Traditionally, India has been an outward looking country.
08:12Our strong commitment to multilateralism is reflected in our active participation in organizations like the United Nations.
08:19This engagement will continue.
08:21The policies of economic liberalization introduced in recent years have increased our regional and global linkages and my government intends to deepen and strengthen these ties.
08:35Our nuclear policy has been marked by restraint and openness.
08:40We have not violated any international agreement either in 1974 or now in 1998.
08:48The restraint exercise for 24 years after having demonstrated our capability in 1974 is in itself a unique example.
08:58Restraint, however, has to arise from strength.
09:03It cannot be based upon indecision or doubt.
09:06The series of tests recently undertaken by India have led to the removal of doubts.
09:12The action involved was balanced in that it was the minimum necessary to maintain what is an irreducible component of our national security calculus.
09:23Subsequently, government has already announced that India will now observe a voluntary meritorium and refrain from conducting underground nuclear test explosions.
09:35We have also indicated willingness to move towards a de jure formalization of this declaration.
09:42The House is no doubt aware of the different reactions that have emanated from the people of India and from different parts of the world.
09:51The overwhelming support of our citizens is our source of strength.
09:56It tells us not only that this decision was right but also that our country wants a focused leadership which attends to their security needs.
10:06This I pledge to do as a sacred duty.
10:10We have also been greatly heartened by outpourings of support from Indians abroad.
10:18They have with one word spoken in favor of our action.
10:22To the people of India and to Indians abroad, I convey my profound gratitude.
10:27We look to the people of India and Indians abroad for support in the difficult period ahead.
10:33In this, the 50th year of our independence, we stand at a defining moment in our history.
10:41The rationale for the government's decision is based on the same policy tenets that have guided us for five decades.
10:48These policies have been sustained successfully because of an underlying national consensus.
10:55It is vital to maintain the consensus as we approach the next millennium.
11:00In my statement today and in the paper placed before the House, I have elaborated on the rationale behind the government's decision and outlined our approach for the future.
11:11The present decision and future actions will continue to reflect a commitment to sensibilities and obligations of an ancient civilization,
11:20a sense of responsibility and restraint, but a restraint born of assurance of action, not of doubts or apprehension.
11:30Avoiding from phallism, let us work together towards our shared objective in ensuring that as we move towards a new millennium,
11:40India will take its rightful place in the international community. Thank you.
11:45So, how stand Sajjan to meet again at 2.30 p.m.