PM Modi used the phrase “peace” as a sine qua non, saying that Pakistan must remove its terror infrastructure if it hopes to live. Peace cannot be achieved in any other way.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shown the code phrase, “The Buddha is smiling,” when India successfully detonated its first nuclear bomb on May 18, 1974, at the Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan. It was Buddha Purnima, the festival commemorating Gautama Buddha’s birth. The codename was born. Pakistan accelerated its nuclear program in response to the test, which culminated in tests in 1998.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a clear message to Pakistan on the same day as the Buddhist festival fifty-one years later: “India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail.” Under the guise of nuclear blackmail, India would launch a precise and forceful strike on terrorist hideouts.
In its announcement from fifty years ago, the Indira Gandhi government referred to the nuclear test as a “peaceful” explosion.
The word “peace” was used by PM Modi as a sine qua non: “Pakistan must destroy its terror infrastructure if it hopes to survive.” Peace can only be achieved in this manner.
Buddha Grins Once More
The prime minister’s remarks were similar to those made by previous prime minister and BJP mainstay Atal Bihari Vajpayee on May 11, 1998, 24 years after Pokhran-1, when India carried out three underground nuclear tests in the same Rajasthan testing range. India carried out two additional tests two days later.
He avoided using the term “peaceful” in his announcement.
The Vajpayee government also decided to conduct nuclear tests on Buddha’s birthday, which are often referred to as “Buddha Smiles Again” but are actually code-named “Operation Shakti.”
“Power Is the Path to Peace”
This was PM Modi’s first speech since India’s 100-hour war with its nuclear-armed neighbor after New Delhi’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the cold-blooded deaths of 26 civilians. Early on May 7, India launched a 25-minute operation that targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
“Instead of supporting India’s strike against terrorism, Pakistan started attacking India itself,” Prime Minister Modi stated. He also stated, “If there is a terrorist attack on India, a fitting reply will be given… a befitting response on our terms only.”
Buddha’s “peace” message, “Today is Buddha Purnima,” was PM Modi’s parting statement. The way of peace has been illuminated for us by Lord Buddha. The important subscript, however, read, “The path of peace also goes through power.”
