TESTing times

Indira Gandhi felt an 8220;almost pathological need8221; to criticise America but at the same time desired an improvement in Indo-US relations on a 8220;more equal8221; basis. This assessment was given by the then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to President Gerald Ford after his meeting with Indira in October 1974, a few months after India exploded its first atomic bomb.

Indira willing to sign CTBT

During her visit to the US in 1974, Indira had said New Delhi would sign a comprehensive test ban treaty if such an accord brings everybody in a 8220;non-discriminatory8221; fashion. She told then Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan that India would have to pursue nuclear energy and not solar energy given the country8217;s needs and economic conditions.

Ripples in Pakistan

The US would use its influence with India and the Soviet Union to 8220;restrain8221; them, President Richard Nixon had assured visiting Pakistani Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs Aziz Ahmed in 1974. 8220;Our prisoners are back and we thought we could move to normalisation with India. There still were a couple of problems. India8217;s defence budget is the highest ever; the Soviet Union ships arms to India,8221; Ahmed had said.