Article ID: CBB461548888

Unfriendly Guardians: India's First Nuclear Leadership Change in 1966 (2021)

unapi

This article, which focuses on the political decision making around the leadership of India's Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), shows how this process both decentralized scientific authority in India and led to changes in India's nuclear programme. New evidence presented from the deliberations of the Prime Minister's Secretariat (PMS) shows that Vikram Sarabhai, appointed chairman of the AEC in 1966, following the sudden death of the previous leader, Homi Bhabha, was the favoured candidate from the start of the process. His view on India's nuclear programme contrasted sharply with that of his predecessor, but his authority was protected, in part, from external challenge by the jurisdictional decisions made by the PMS. This article argues that the ambiguity inherent in India's developing nuclear programme was not the result of the apprehension of external threat, but the result of internal tensions within the relevant institutions, which are both revealed and (partially) resolved by the appointment process for the new chair.

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Authors & Contributors
Carson, Cathryn L.
Sharma, Pranav
Martin Theaker
Kelly, Dominic
Gavin, Francis J.
Unger, Corinna R.
Concepts
Nuclear power; atomic energy
Science and government
Science and politics
Nuclear weapons; atomic weapons
Government sponsored science
Nuclear testing
Time Periods
20th century, late
20th century
21st century
20th century, early
Places
India
United States
Japan
Russia
Germany
Europe
Institutions
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Naval Research Laboratory (U.S.)
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