TWO FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

How a pair of rocket scientists forged India's missile muscle, overcoming ridicule and red tape

- BY R. PRASANNAN

Both were Kalam’s kids—scientists who had worked with A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, first on ISRO’s Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) programme, and later on the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) at DRDO, which shaped India’s missile arsenal. Always calm, composed, self-effacing, and generous with their scientific wisdom—even with schoolchildren.

Each had a singular weakness. For Sivathanu Pillai, it was the mention of Tomahawk; for R. Prahlada, it was Patriot. Mention the two American missiles, and the men would fly off the handle.

I was once a victim of their wrath. In a lighthearted article about Delhi's party circuit, I described a lanky lady lighting a cigar as “she lit a miniature Tomahawk”. Pillai called the next morning to chastise me, asking why I didn’t mention BrahMos instead. I laughed, wondering why a venerable missile scientist should care what a poor scribe had written about the city’s party animals. But he had a point: “India needs to project the brand image of our defence products; we should go on mentioning our equipment, even in jest.”

The exchange with Prahlada happened at a press meet. I asked him how he would compare his Akash with Patriot, and he snapped: “Patriot? Are you so taken in by Patriot? OK, I will call my Akash ‘poor man’s Patriot. Happy?”

We had our reasons. Tomahawk and Patriot had been stealing not only the show in many of America’s wars since the 1990s, but also the hearts of generals across the world. Dazzled by the demonstration of American war technology during the Gulf wars and the Afghan campaign, most of us thought poorly of Indian military knowhow. The bias was worsened by delay, cost overruns and early failures of ballistic missiles systems such as Nag and Trishul. The stigma often spread to successful systems like Agni and Prithvi. The scientists didn’t mind criticism, but they couldn’t stand our starry-eyed obsession with ‘phoren’ ware.