2. India becomes a nuclear power (1974, 1998)
India carried out a series of underground nuclear tests on May 10, 1998.
It was the first time India carried out such tests since 1974, when India conducted a "peaceful" nuclear explosion at Pokharan.
The experiments caught the international community and watchdogs unawares and there was widespread outrage and concern over the move.
The civil nuclear agreement concluded between Washington and New Delhi a decade after India's tests was exceptional not simply because it symbolized a turning point in a relationship that had long been hostile.
In giving India the right to civil nuclear trade, the United States now explicitly recognized India as a “responsible nuclear state” in the global nuclear game, which was tantamount to both picking it for the team, and letting it onto the pitch.
