Mission Shakti: Going beyond Pokhran

The operation code-named "Mission Shakti" which saw India joining the club of declared nuclear powers in the late 1990s

The prime ministerial announcement earlier this week of a successful anti-satellite kill by India saw a curious comment from an international newspaper with the words “if confirmed”, leading one to wonder who the newspaper expected to provide confirmation of the orbital strike — Thanos or Darth Vader ?

The kinetic kill that saw a low earth orbit satellite being taken down by an indigenously built ballistic missile defence interceptor, also saw several shibboleths being taken down both domestically and internationally, as India announced its entry into an elite club of a handful of major global powers.

The operation code-named “Mission Shakti”, which