India, May 11 -- The defining technologies of the twenty-first century such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and space systems may seem far removed from nuclear weapons, but the underlying logic remains unchanged

Every year on May 11, National Technology Day commemorates India's 1998 nuclear tests at Pokhran (Operation Shakti). However, viewing this day as simply a scientific and technological milestone overlooks its deeper significance. The tests conducted on May 11 and 13 were also an expression of political will, strategic clarity, and a decisive assertion of national identity within a hierarchical global nuclear order that had long privileged a few and constrained many.

When Prime Ministe...