The heat wave had the country in its grip. The usual problems of no water and no electricity were attendant. Fifty years into independence and every Indian knows that even the most basic amenities are still a pipe dream. Then, on 11 May, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee summoned the press corps, strode on to a flag-festooned podium and proudly announced that the country now had the Bomb. The momentous announcement was initially met with stunned silence and then, prompted by much chest-thumping bravado from the Sangh Parivar, the beleaguered population found a cause for celebration. (Astonishingly, while the rest of the world and the country knew nothing of the impending explosions, the RSS mouthpiece, The Organiser, came up with an issue devoted to commemorating the 1974 blast in Pokhran and talk of nuclear testing, bang on the day the tests were conducted.) The celebratory mood was also encouraged by the elite media. A front page editorial in The Pioneer titled "Explosion of Self Esteem" said: "India's battle to regain self-esteem, both internal and external, is several steps closer to a victorious conclusion thanks to the government's aplomb."
As for opponents of the bomb, the paper was derisive: "The proponents of butter over guns will take out their calculators to compute the number of schools, hospitals and other such monuments for welfarism that could have been built with the money exploded at Pokhran." Said The Indian Express front page edit, "This is the end of ambiguity – and hypocrisy…This is a time for popular euphoria and celebration." The Hindustan Times called its front pager "A Moment of Pride" and asserted: "The smiling Buddha of 1974 has now blossomed into a new assertion of the country's right to arm itself in a manner which it believes is best suited to its security interests."
The heat wave had the country in its grip. The usual problems of no water and no electricity were attendant. Fifty years into independence and every Indian knows that even the most basic amenities are still a pipe dream. Then, on 11 May, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee summoned the press corps, strode on to a flag-festooned podium and proudly announced that the country now had the Bomb. The momentous announcement was initially met with stunned silence and then, prompted by much chest-thumping bravado from the Sangh Parivar, the beleaguered population found a cause for celebration. (Astonishingly, while the rest of the world and the country knew nothing of the impending explosions, the RSS mouthpiece, The Organiser, came up with an issue devoted to commemorating the 1974 blast in Pokhran and talk of nuclear testing, bang on the day the tests were conducted.) The celebratory mood was also encouraged by the elite media. A front page editorial in The Pioneer titled "Explosion of Self Esteem" said: "India's battle to regain self-esteem, both internal and external, is several steps closer to a victorious conclusion thanks to the government's aplomb."
As for opponents of the bomb, the paper was derisive: "The proponents of butter over guns will take out their calculators to compute the number of schools, hospitals and other such monuments for welfarism that could have been built with the money exploded at Pokhran." Said The Indian Express front page edit, "This is the end of ambiguity – and hypocrisy…This is a time for popular euphoria and celebration." The Hindustan Times called its front pager "A Moment of Pride" and asserted: "The smiling Buddha of 1974 has now blossomed into a new assertion of the country's right to arm itself in a manner which it believes is best suited to its security interests."
Only The Times of India sounded a note of caution. "The maelstrom of destruction which lies at the point of a nuclear impact is called ground zero: today India represents this epicentre which will inevitably send shock waves throughout the region and the world beyond. More than a demonstration of India's enhanced nuclear capability, the tests represent a political statement by New Delhi under the saffron flag. Unfortunately, it is not clear to what extent the Vajpayee government has thought through the strategic implications of its decision." But this was in the inside pages; the front page reportage about the explosions was gung-ho and upbeat.
Little wonder that the political and intellectual class that takes its cues from the English press was very wary of coming out with adverse statements in a situation where they could sound "unpatriotic". Only a handful of journalists, known opponents of the bomb like Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik, wrote strongly against it and for their effort received a number of threatening calls.