Padmanabha Krishnagopala Iyengar

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This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content.

1931-2011

[ From the archives of the Times of India]

Srinivas Laxman

India’s top nuke scientist, P K Iyengar designed the first atomic bomb which was detonated at Pokhran in 1974, and was a staunch opponent of the Indo-US nuclear deal. He became director of BARC in 1984 and was chairman of the atomic energy commission (AEC) between 1990 and 1993. “He got the lung infection three weeks ago and he recovered. Again he got it and he recovered. But, today, he died due to a combination of lung infection and kidney failure,” he said.

Though Iyengar had contributed a great deal to various aspects of India’s nuclear programme, he is best known for the part played in the country’s first nuke test, code-named ‘Smiling Buddha’. A few hours before the N-test, Homi Sethna, then chairman of AEC was reported to have asked at Pokhran: “Whose head will roll if the device does not explode.” To this Iyengar replied: “If the laws of physics works, it will work.” And it worked successfully ushering India into the elite nuclear weapons club, deceiving American spy satellites. Iyengar started his career with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in 1952, joined the then atomic energy establishment in Mumbai in 1955, and was soon deputed to the Chalk River Laboratories of the Canadian Atomic Energy Establishment. He had also played a major part in the design of the Dhruva reactor at Trombay.