---
title: "Pokhran-II (Operation Shakti, 1998) — Definition & Meaning"
description: "Pokhran-II (Operation Shakti) was India's five-test nuclear series in May 1998 that declared it a nuclear-weapon state. See the tests, sanctions, and doctrine."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/pokhran-ii-operation-shakti"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Pokhran-II, codenamed Operation Shakti, was the series of five nuclear tests India conducted at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan in May 1998.
- How does Pokhran-II differ from Pokhran-I?
- Did Pokhran-II violate the NPT or CTBT?
- Why is the yield of the thermonuclear device disputed?
- What doctrine followed Pokhran-II?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Timeline

1. 13 May 1998

   Pokhran-II, conducted under the codename Operation Shakti ("Power"), was the cluster of nuclear explosive tests carried out by India at the Pokhran test rang…

2. 18 May 1974

   The tests built on India's first nuclear detonation of —the "Smiling Buddha" or Pokhran-I, which New Delhi had described as a "peaceful nuclear explosion." O…

3. 11 May 1998

   On India detonated three devices simultaneously: a fission device, a thermonuclear (two-stage, hydrogen-bomb) device, and a sub-kiloton device.

4. 6 June 1998

   The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1172 on , condemning the tests and those of Pakistan, which conducted its own Chagai-I and Chagai-II tests on 28 a…

5. 30 May 1998

   The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1172 on 6 June 1998, condemning the tests and those of Pakistan, which conducted its own Chagai-I and Chagai-II te…

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Example

On 11 May 1998, India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced at a New Delhi press conference that scientists at Pokhran had detonated three nuclear devices, declaring India a nuclear-weapon state.

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