R Chidambaram
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A brief biography
Srinivas Laxman & Surendra Singh, TNN, January 5, 2024: The Times of India
Mumbai/New Delhi : Rajagopala Chidambaram was India’s foremost nuclear weapons designer and an important player in both of India’s Pokhran nuclear tests — Smiling Buddha in May 1974 and Operation Shakti in May 1998.
Chidambaram was often called “Indian Oppenheimer”.
The details of Pokhran-2 tests were fine-tuned at the wedding of Chidambaram’s second daughter at a hall in Mumbai attended by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Chidambaram himself told an audience of nearly 2,000 in Sion in 2015 that as the rituals were in progress, he and Kalam had slipped unnoticed into a nearby room and finalised preparations for the nuclear test. Referring to Chidambaram’s role in Pokhran-2, Col Gopal Kaushik (Retd), described as best secrets keeper of the nuclear tests after he hoodwinked the spy satellites, told TOI that during the tests Chidambaram’s code name was “Maj Gen Nataraj”. “Chidambaram was well-versed with the nuances of a nuclear experiment of this magnitude and was instrumental in ensuring only indigenously sourced nuclear material was used for the tests,’’ Col Kaushik (Retd) said. In 1967, Chidambaram joined the nuclear weapon designing effort, dealing mainly with the metallurgical and physical aspects of nuclear weapons.
For India’s first nuclear weapons test, on May 18, 1974, he and his colleague carried the plutonium device in a military truck from Mumbai to Pokhran. He writes in India Rising. Memoir Of A Scientist: “Nobody except us knew which box contained the plutonium. During the entire journey, we would have the beds brought in the truck and slept inside the truck. Since we halted at military officers’ messes en route, the military people thought there was something wrong with us.” Born in the erstwhile Madras Province in 1936, Chidambaram, who was an alumnus of Presidency College, Chennai, and Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, held several prestigious roles throughout his illustrious career, including being principal scientific adviser to the Union Govt (2001–2018), director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (1990-1993), Atomic Energy Commission chairman, and secretary of Department of Atomic Energy (1993-2000). He was also International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors chairman and served as a member of IAEA’s Commission of Eminent Persons, contributing to the organisation’s vision for 2020 and beyond. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1975 and Padma Vibhushan in 1999.
“Deeply saddened” by his demise, PM Narendra Modi said in a post on X, adding, “Dr Rajagopala Chidambaram was one of the key architects of India’s nuclear programme and made groundbreaking contributions in strengthening India’s scientific and strategic capabilities. He will be remembered with gratitude by the whole nation and his efforts will inspire generations to come.”
As a world-class physicist, Chidambaram’s research in high-pressure physics, crystallography and materials science significantly advanced the scientific community’s understanding of these fields. His pioneering work in these areas laid the foundation for modern materials science research in India. He was also instrumental in initiating India’s indigenous development of supercomputers and conceptualising National Knowledge Network. On Saturday, his body was taken from the hospital to his residence at Deonar where visitors paid their last respects. From there, it was moved to Barc convention centre where more people paid homage. At around 6 pm it taken to the Deonar crematorium for the final rites. Top scientists and officials from the nuclear fraternity attended the funeral.
