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April 4, 1973

Bombay consulate cable 705 to Department of State, 'India’s Nuclear Position'

This document was made possible with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)

The possibility that India had made a decision to test surfaced in a message from the U.S. consulate in Bombay (Mumbai) signed off by Consul David M. Bane. The latter reported that Oak Ridge Laboratory scientist John J. Pinajian, then serving as the Atomic Energy Commission’s scientific representative in India, had pointed out several “indications”—-notably his lack of access to key individuals and facilities in India’s atomic establishment--suggesting that India “may well have decided” to test a nuclear device. While stating that Pinajian’s evaluation was “subjective and impressionistic,” Consul Bane agreed that the atomic energy establishment did not want this American poking around because he might find out too much. Bane further observed that a nuclear test “in the not too distant future” could meet India’s political goals and help attain “greater recognition major power status.”


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National Archives, Record Group 59, SN 70-73, Def 1 India. Obtained and contributed by William Burr and included in NPIHP Research Update #4.

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Original Uploaded Date

2011-12-07

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Record ID

113908

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Confidential

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Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY)