Himanta Blames Congress for Letting Pakistan Go Nuclear
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has ignited a fresh political storm by accusing the Congress government of the 1980s of committing a “historic blunder” that enabled Pakistan to become a nuclear weapons state. In a strongly worded post on social media, Sarma alleged that India ignored actionable intelligence and turned down Israeli assistance to pre-empt Pakistan’s nuclear rise.
The comments have opened a controversial chapter in India’s nuclear history, with Sarma suggesting that the Indian leadership at the time failed to seize a rare strategic opportunity—one that could have reshaped South Asian geopolitics permanently.
Israel Offered Support, India Refused
According to Sarma, Indian intelligence agencies had conclusive evidence in the 1980s that Pakistan was enriching uranium at its Kahuta facility near Rawalpindi. He claimed that Israel offered India operational support to conduct a joint airstrike on the site, even proposing to use the Jamnagar Air Base as a forward platform.
Military brass, Sarma said, was on board with the plan. But in a critical reversal, the political leadership pulled back under diplomatic pressure from global powers. “India backed down in the eleventh hour,” he wrote, stressing that this inaction gave Pakistan the time and space to become a nuclear state by 1998.
Enabling Nuclear Blackmail
Sarma’s larger warning was clear: Pakistan’s nuclear capability now serves as a shield for cross-border terrorism and proxy warfare. He termed it “nuclear blackmail” and warned against any moves to weaken India’s own deterrent.
Taking aim at opposition figures, he expressed alarm at what he called “dangerous naivety” among those advocating for unilateral disarmament or nuclear restraint. In an age where rogue nations leverage nuclear threats as a routine diplomatic tool, such stances, he argued, are detached from reality.
BJP vs Congress Over Strategic Miss
The implications of Sarma’s statement stretch beyond historical critique—they revisit a strategic fork in India’s past, one that has ongoing consequences. The allegation that India had the operational backing of Israel to take out Kahuta, yet chose restraint, casts a sharp light on India’s nuclear doctrine under Congress leadership.
No formal rebuttal has yet come from the Congress party, but the BJP has historically accused past governments of lacking geopolitical foresight. With elections on the horizon, this issue could become another flashpoint in the national security narrative.
As questions resurface about how different South Asia might have looked had that 1980s mission gone ahead, Sarma’s remarks may ensure this debate is far from over.
