Do you know why we celebrate National Technology Day today?
In 1998, India's success of Operation Shakti by testing nuclear missiles, set alarm bells ringing in the United States, while rest of the world witnessed the might of Indian technology. That wasn't all though, on the same date India achieved two more important feats that persuaded the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to declare May 11 as the National Technology Day in 1999..
This is what PMO tweeted today
What were the other two achievements?
Apart from nuclear tests, India also successfully tested its first indigenous aircraft - Hansa 3, developed by National Aerospace Laboratories, Bengaluru. Moreover, India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) supplemented the day's achievement by successfully testing Trishul, India's Surface-to-Air missile. It was inducted by the Army and the Navy and became a part of India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
How India fooled the United States of America
Pokhran II was India's biggest achievement as it was never easy to succeed with United States on our back and nuclear non-proliferation in the center. Nevertheless, Indian scientists were unstoppable. They intelligently moved the equipment that could be caught by US spy satellites by calculating their orbits and shifting when they were safe. "They were in our blind spot," said a senior military official.
A brilliant secret that it was
Then Deputy Secretary of the United States, Strobe Talbott, was oblivious to Pokhran II development. A senior member came running to him and informed several nuclear tests had been conducted by India. "Who told you?" he asked. "CNN," she replied.
Entry into the Big 5
India testing nuclear capable missile changed the game altogether. Thanks to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India had overcome the never-ending dominance of the western powers. With our entry into the exclusive club of the 'Big-5' nations, the rules of the game had changed, to never be the same again.
