Pokhran: At about 8.30 p.m. on Friday night, Om Prakash, a resident of Jaisalmer’s Pokhran town, heard loud explosions and saw streaks of light in the air from his pitch-dark house. The town was enveloped in darkness as a blackout was in place.
It later emerged that Pakistan had sent a swarm of drones but those were knocked out of the skies by the Indian armed forces. The debris of damaged drones was seized by the Army personnel.
Pokharan, according to Om Prakash, was never targeted before, be it in the wars in 1965 or 1971. “Even in the 1971 war, Pakistan did not attack Pokhran, which is also not very far from the India-Pakistan border. We heard it from our elders. But this time, they attacked us with a swarm of drones, and we clearly saw the Indian air defence system destroy them in the air,” said the owner of a shop in Pokhran market.
The town is little over 200 km away from the India-Pakistan border. In 1971, the western sector had seen one major operation by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in which six Hunter aircraft destroyed over 30 Pakistani tanks in the Battle of Longewala.
Pokhran was put on high alert amid India-Pakistan tension following India’s Operation Sindoor launched in the aftermath of the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack. Blackout was enforced from 8 May to 11 May. All the shops were shut by 5 p.m. in this period.
“We are from the soil where nuclear tests happened. There is nothing to worry about Pakistan’s drone attack. But this is new warfare, completely different,” Prakash said.
Local residents like Om Prakash and Rawal Ram Parihar, a shop owner selling automobile spare parts, are proud to remind outsiders about Pokhran’s link to India’s security: it was in the sandy desert of Pokhran that India had carried out nuclear tests twice, first in May 1974 and then in May 1998.
“In the gap of two days, India conducted two nuclear tests in 1998. No one from the villages were allowed to go close to the test region. The area was completely cordoned off and under army surveillance,” said Parihar, in his seventies, recalled.
Villagers, he said, got to know about the tests only when they heard explosions. “There were very big explosions; the ground shook.”
Khetolai’s tryst with nuclear tests
At a distance of 28 km from Pokhran, Khetolai village is situated on National Highway 11. What sets it apart is that Khetolai is the village closest to India’s nuclear testing site. The absence of undergound water even at a depth of 2,000 metre in Khetolai turned out to be a boon in disguise as it meant no possible danger of radiation after nuclear tests.
Residents here are mostly from the Bishnoi community. Old-timers distinctly remember both the nuclear tests. In 1974, India carried out nuclear tests under the leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The operation was codenamed Smiling Buddha. Twenty four years on, Operation Shakti saw India carry out five nuclear tests. This time, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was leading the country.
“In 1974, the tremor was minor but on 11 May 1998, the tremors were significant,” said Mana Ram, a Khetolai resident.
Ram said before the nuclear tests, the preparation started around the 1960s when land was acquired by the government. “None of us had the inkling that our village will be the focal point of India’s nuclear tests. We all are proud as this was in national interest.”
“The land was acquired at very low cost. We have not received proper compensation and no development has reached our village,” Ram asserted. “Pokhran is 28 km away from here, but everyone knows Pokhran for nuclear tests. The government does not pay attention to us. Pokhran has overshadowed the identity of Khetolai.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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