May 1998 Edition
Excerpts from statements by India's leading defence scientist Dr. Abdul Kalam
Dr Kalam told reporters that India's nuclear programme was "almost 100 per cent self-reliant," and it could not be "throttled" by sanctions. Technology control regimes imposed on India by the West had increased the level of self-reliance in key sectors such as science and technology, space research and defence.
"They (the US) refused to give us supercomputers, and now we can make such machines. They refused to give us cryogenic engines for our rockets, and we will build our own engine in the next few years," he said. Dr Kalam and Atomic Energy Commission chairman Dr R Chidambaram said the material for the nuclear tests was completely indigenous and produced by "local mastery over relevant technologies" by the Department of Atomic Energy.
South Asian Voice is edited by M. Kaul and A. Khadalia