Pokhran II - questions raised

A real shocker - Pokhran-II in May,1998 may not be what we have been told. The thermonuclear (TN) explosion was supposed to yield around 45KT, but it probably ended up generating a measly 20-25KT. However, the fission device which was supposed to set-off the TN, yielded the desired result and the perfunctory crater; so did the third device - a sub-kiloton device. While the fission device is still capable of causing irreparable damage, the TN device was supposed to be 3 times as potent as the Hiroshima bomb. The implications of this episode, as it unravels, are quite disturbing and leave many unanswered questions :
1) The credibility of former president Mr. APJ is in serious jeopardy. Apparently he was aware of the official post mortem of the TN explosion. So why did he keep mum then, and why does he continue to support R Chidambaram ( the then AEC Chairman ) and the incumbent MK Narayanan ?
2) If the tests didnt do anything to the "White House" ( relax...its the shaft in which the TN device was placed. Wonder why BJP didnt raise a red flag to the American reference in the desi tests ), why didnt we go for further tests without much delay ?
3) If it is really true that the tests fizzled out, then we do not have the minimum nuclear deterrence against a diabolical Pak state and the muslce-flexing Chinese republic. This would also be fodder to the terrorist organizations to mount another offensive, and if we do not have the nuclear werewithal, we cant take the swift and decisive riposte which our home minister has been crying hoarse about.
4) We cant be rushed into signing the CTBT, which is what Mr.Santhanam ( the then project leader of Pokhran-II ) claims as the reason for his disclosure after these many years.
5) Did the BJP government put pressure on the Pokhran project committee to carry out the tests prematurely, to gain political brownie points ?

The more we read in the media about the cover-up, one is inclined to think that we have been fed a false sense of security and pride. If the tests were really botched, then we are in a classic catch-22 - 1) Given the US India nuclear deal, it wont be easy to carry out any more tests 2) On the other hand, we cant sit idle without proving our minimum deterrence both for the Indian public and to the doubting world.

Super mess this. Who and how are they going to clean this up ?

The week that was

For all those hardcore followers of Sivagiri :
Sivagiri - The Crusader

Three issues have been in news over the last week, which probably have garnered more news bytes, second only to the swine flu. Instant hit has been BJP's "over the top - let me be first type reaction" to Jaswant's book on Jinnah; Then comes the media-savvy and smug "My name is Khan....Shah rukh(ja) khan"; and finally "Kaminey" and "Kandaswamy" ( I am afraid the early reports have called the tamil flick a dud ).



BJP is in a downward spiral, with party idealogy ( we are told they are still are not sure what it is ) being relegated to the background and LK Advani being marginalized even at a dottering age of 82. All the hoopla around mild and moderate ex-BJPer Jaswant Singh, his book and his subsequent explusion smacks of BJP's muddled thinking post Vajpayee era. Their internal mess has took roots post the lok sabha electoral debacle. Every credible political commentator vouches that none from the 20 core party members of BJP might have read the 600 something page book on Jinnah, leave alone reading between the lines. Their reaction is being ridiculed on the basis that it is Congress who indirectly are at the receiving end in the book, owing to Nehru's support for the two nation theory; Sardar Patel has not been shown as the troublemaker as is being played out in BJP circles. Jinnah purportedly has been shown toeing the logical line of seeking a separate nation owing to unfavourable bias towards the minority community. The popular verdict on who is the hero and who is the villain in the book, has not been announced as yet. Will wait for that....until then hope BJP doesnt shoot itself all over, while Congress stands by and waits for its turn to hog the limelight. That would mean lesser expenditure for the next elections - something our politicians wouldnt prefer.



SRK has taken his smugness and confidence to greater heights with his over-the-top reaction to his frisking at the NJ airport. While most of them feel that it is a publicity stunt by King Khan, he defended the same by saying that "My name is Khan" will be done only in 8-9 months; we have to give the man the benefit of doubt. He denies that he didnt feel offended because the authorities deliberately failed to acknowledge who he was, but still believe his ego got to him. But we have to appreciate the man for the kind of media empire he has built since his "Hi Chaps, Fauji" days. Congress MP Ambika Soni did put the Congress on the wrong foot when she called for an ill-advised tit-for-tat policy. She did her bit to get some news bytes, alas no match for BJP's "Quick Gun Murugan" reaction.




Kaminey, for all the negative connotations to the word, has been getting thumbs up, unanimously from all quarters. Shahid, post his "Jab We Met" performance, has managed to shrug off the tag of SRK wannabe. Vishal Bharadwaj, seen as a desi version of Tarantino, doesnt mix too much pop-candy in his serious movies - Omkara was a dark drama loosely based on Othello - and now Kaminey. Cant wait to watch this flick.



On the other hand, "Chiyan" Vikram's superhero caper Kanthaswamy is of a mind numbing length of 3hr 20 mins. The length wouldnt have mattered if it were a Lord of the Rings or a Ben Hur, instead the early reviews have been very disappointing. Shriya probably will walk off with the eye-candy honours while Vikram and Suzi Ganesan will have to get over the disappointment. It still might go onto rake in the moolah, but am sure the lead actor's and director's reputation have taken a hit. Wont watch this one, unless dragged into the theatres by unforeseen fateful forcing by faithful friends.