In a stunning revelation that challenges Bharat’s nuclear history, a confidential US diplomatic cable from December 1974, recently surfaced via Wikileaks, reveals that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was prepared to share India’s nuclear technology with Pakistan, just months after conducting India’s first nuclear test.
In the cable, sent by the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, Gandhi is quoted as assuring Pakistan that:
“India is willing to share her nuclear technology with Pakistan in the same way she is willing to share it with other countries, provided proper conditions for understanding and trust are created.”
This statement was made despite Pakistan’s hostile posture following the 1971 India-Pakistan War, which led to the creation of Bangladesh — a victory that the Congress Party often touts as one of its greatest legacies, especially when attempting to outshine Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent geopolitical achievements and post Operation Sindoor developments particularly pause in the military operations with Pakistan.
Former Prime Minister and Congress leader #IndiraGandhi contacted her Pakistani counterpart Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and offered to share India's nuclear technology with the Islamic country.https://t.co/tkk8cOICMU pic.twitter.com/sbS0uI1gFb
— Nishant Azad/निशांत आज़ाद🇮🇳 (@azad_nishant) May 16, 2025
Ironically, the same Indira Gandhi, celebrated for decisively breaking up Pakistan in 1971 and for ordering the Pokhran nuclear test in May 1974, was — as per this cable — open to sharing nuclear know-how with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s regime, provided there was “trust.”
A curious paradox, especially considering that just three years earlier i.e 1971, Pakistan had launched Operation Chengiz Khan, triggering a full-scale war. Yet, Gandhi’s 1974 offer, positioned as “peaceful and economic,” shows a bizarre diplomatic overture than what today’s political narrative would suggest.
In recent weeks, Congress leaders have aggressively invoked Indira Gandhi’s 1971 triumph in attempts to belittle Modi’s leadership, particularly his foreign policy and Operation Sindoor. So much so that even Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, known for his diplomatic finesse, had to publicly clarify that his praise for Modi was “personal” and not the party’s position, after receiving an apparent dressing-down from within his own ranks.
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