The first and only use of nuclear weapons occurred in Japan in 1945, at Hiroshima on 6 August and Nagasaki on 9 August. In the decades that followed, the spectre of nuclear annihilation haunted our collective dreams. While this fear has eased, it has not entirely disappeared. The story of how India built its nuclear capabilities is instructive not only because it explains geopolitical realities that are still with us, but also because it highlights the unique path that India has taken since its Independence on 14 August, 1947.