1974

Smiling Buddha

India conducts its first nuclear-explosive test at Pokhran

Two hours after the blast, India’s foreign secretary told the U.S. chargé that the explosion had been meant for projects such as mining and earthmoving.

8:00 a.m. at Pokhran

The listing carries only the year, and the article behind it claims the source gives no exact date. It does: India detonated an underground implosion-type nuclear device at Pokhran in Rajasthan at 8:00 a.m. on 18 May 1974, at a reported burial depth of more than 100 metres.

That made India the sixth country to demonstrate a nuclear-explosive capability, after the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and China.

Called peaceful, by India

At 10:00 a.m. Foreign Secretary Kewal Singh informed the U.S. chargé, describing the event as a “peaceful nuclear explosion” conducted by the Indian Atomic Energy Commission to research uses such as mining and earthmoving. A public announcement that afternoon repeated that India did not intend to produce nuclear weapons.

The phrase described a declared purpose, not a technically distinct kind of detonation. Because the explosive technology was directly applicable to weapons, outside governments and many historians classify the shot as India’s first nuclear-weapons test.

A later Indian government assessment puts the yield at 12–13 kilotons; published estimates have varied, and that figure should not be treated as uncontested.

Canadian reactor, American heavy water

The device’s plutonium came from CIRUS, a Canadian-supplied research reactor whose heavy water had been supplied by the United States. Canada suspended nuclear cooperation with India after the test.

Even the familiar name is shaky. The origin of “Smiling Buddha,” and the story that “the Buddha is smiling” was the success code, are disputed; one technical history concludes the test may have had no formal pre-shot code name.

Sources

Researched 24 Aug 2026 6 sources not yet audited Date corrected

How this was checked

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Date corrected. The research places this at 1974-05-18.

What the sources leave uncertain

India officially classified the shot as a peaceful nuclear explosion rather than a weapon test. Because the underlying explosive technology was directly applicable to weapons, outside governments and many historians classify it as India’s first nuclear-weapons test.
Published yield estimates have varied. The later Indian government assessment cited here is 12–13 kilotons; that figure should not be presented as uncontested.
“Smiling Buddha” is the familiar retrospective name. The origin of the name and the story that “the Buddha is smiling” was the success code are disputed; one technical history concludes that the test may have had no formal pre-shot code name.