“When Buddha Smiled – 50th Anniversary of India’s Original Nuclear Sin of May 1974”

India conducted its maiden underground nuclear test in May 1974, thereby, becoming the sixth nuclear weapons state in the world and in May 2024, India celebrates the 50th anniversary of it. However, the timing of that event, coming right after the NPT regime came into effect, was simply awful and India was duly punished by the West with economic sanctions & other punitive measures for it in an attempt to set an example for others. However, India's decision & actions to pursue a nuclear weapons capability, back then, are largely misunderstood and can not be fully understood & comprehended without putting it properly into the prevailing regional power dynamics as well as the larger geopolitical context. This 3,000 word analytical piece is a humble attempt to put India's actions on the nuclear front into perspective, as well as their global implications for the NPT regime amid the return of the great power competition & rivalry among leading geopolitical powers driving an unprecedented surge in defense spending globally as well as regional political tensions & conflicts. It clearly is a déjà vu moment for the world as the spectre of nuclear warfare returns to haunt humanity once again with modernization of nuclear weapons and strategic delivery systems figuring very prominently on the agenda for most nuclear weapon states, thereby, making the world a very dangerous place indeed.