Pokhran#Nuclear test site

Pokhran is located 112 km east of Jaisalmer city, 172 km northwest of Jodhpur and 225 km south of Bikaner by road. It lies on Jaisalmer to Jodhpur railway line. It is situated at {{coord|27.095|N|71.753|E|}} and has an average elevation of 233 metres (764 feet).

It has arid climate as it lies in the Thar Desert and receives a little rain in the monsoon months July to September. Pokhran has extreme climate. It has extremely hot and dry summers from April to June though monsoon months are also very hot. The temperature in summer can reach 46°C during the day. The night temperature in summer is more than 30°C, Pokhran has very cold winters with temperature dropping to 1°C.{{Cite web | title=Weather in Pokhran{{!}} Weather Forecast Pokhran {{!}} Weather Report AdoorPokhran-NativePlanet | url=https://www.nativeplanet.com/pokhran/weather/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902164617/https://www.nativeplanet.com/pokhran/weather/ | access-date=2025-03-31 | archive-date=2023-09-02}}

There is nothing much to see in Pokhran. Tourists may find winter pleasant during the day but they are not allowed near the nuclear test site.

Fort Pokhran, the 14th century citadel also known as "Balagarh", stands amidst the Thar Desert. This monument is the premier fort of the chief of the Champawats, one of the clan of Rathores of the state of Marwar-Jodhpur. Fort Pokhran is open for visitors and is being currently run as heritage hotel by the royal family of Pokhran.

On the outskirts of the town, the Satiyo Deval Sati Mata Memorial, a royal cenotaph, is freely accessible.

• Seat of Chief of the Champawats, a sub-clan of Rathores of the state of Marwar-Jodhpur.
• Bhawani Singh of Pokhran (b. 1911) was the last jagirdar of Pokhran before Indian independence. He was Sessions Judge and was elected to the 1st Lok Sabha, the Lower house of Indian parliament from Barmer-Jalore constituency, after getting elected as an Independent candidate in the 1952 Indian general election.{{cite web | title = Pokhran (thikana) Genealogy | url = http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/p/pokhran.html | access-date = 2014-06-24 | first = Henry | last = Soszynski | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222170614/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/p/pokhran.html | archive-date = 22 December 2015 | url-status = dead }}{{cite web | title = Members Bioprofile: First Lok Sabha | url = http://164.100.47.132/lssnew/biodata_1_12/623.htm | publisher = Lok Sabha website | access-date = 2014-06-24 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140624083100/http://164.100.47.132/lssnew/biodata_1_12/623.htm | archive-date = 2014-06-24 }}

According to 2011 Indian census,{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999|archive-date=2004-06-16|title= Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)|access-date=2008-11-01|publisher= Census Commission of India}} Pokhran had a population of 28,457 within Pokaran Municipal Board territory. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Pokhran has an average literacy rate of 56%, lower than the national average of 74.0%: male literacy is 68%, and female literacy is 41%. In Pokhran, 19% of the population is under 6 years of age.

{{Infobox military test site

| name = Pokhran Test Range (PTR)

| nearest_town = Jaisalmer

| country = India

| image =

| caption =

| map =

| map_caption =

| type = Nuclear test site

| coordinates = {{coord|27.095|N|71.753|E|display=inline}}

| operator = {{Army|India}}

| status = Active

| dates = 1970–{{small|present}}

| nuclear_tests = 6

| subcritical_tests = N/A

}}

The Pokhran Test Range (PTR) is a key component of India's nuclear programme which is located outside the Pokaran Municipal Board jurisdiction and is controlled by the Indian Army. The army base is located 26 km north-west of Pokhran town and 4 km north of Khetolai village.[https://scroll.in/article/664440/forty-years-after-pokhran-nuclear-tests-villagers-complain-of-frequent-cancer-deaths Forty years after Pokhran nuclear tests, villagers complain of frequent cancer deaths], Scroll.in, 18 May 2014

The army base was built by the Indian Army Corps of Engineers and is under the control of Indian Army. It was built sometime before May 1974, when, following authorization given to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, it hosted the detonation of India's first nuclear device.

{{main|Smiling Buddha|Pokhran-II}}

The Ministry of External Affairs designated the test "Pokhran-I", but it is also known as "Smiling Buddha". It was India's first successful nuclear bomb test on 18 May 1974.{{cite web|url=http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/timeline/timeline_page.php?year=1974|title=1974 Nuclear files|last=FIles|work=Nuclear Age Peace Foundation|publisher=Nuclear files archives|access-date=14 January 2013|archive-date=14 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514074542/http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/timeline/timeline_page.php?year=1974|url-status=dead}}{{cite web| url= http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/India/IndiaSmiling.html| work = India's Nuclear Weapons Program | title = Smiling Buddha, 1974|publisher=Nuclear Weapon Archive}} The bomb was detonated on the army base Pokhran Test Range (PTR), in Rajasthan, by the Indian Army under the supervision of several key Indian generals.

On 11 and 13 May 1998, twenty-four years after Pokhran-I, the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) conducted five further nuclear tests, dubbed "Pokhran-II", at the Pokhran range. Four AEC devices and, under the codename Shakti, a thermonuclear device were tested.

• Pokaran railway station
• Pokaran Assembly constituency

{{reflist}}

{{Nuclear power in India}}

{{Jaisalmer district}}

Category:Cities and towns in Jaisalmer district

Category:Nuclear test sites

Category:Indian nuclear test sites

Category:Environmental disasters in India

Category:Controversies in India