MUMBAI: India broke into the hitherto exclusive five-member nuclear club on Monday when it conducted three underground nuclear tests at Pokhran in Rajasthan,24 years after its first implosion at the same site.

The tests took the nation and the world by surprise. In the wake of the successful conclusion of the three tests, spanning a range of nuclear devices, what does the average Indian feel? Is it a sense of national pride? Will the Indian action escalate the arms race in the subcontinent? How do Indians think the US, Pakistan and China will react?

To answer these questions, the Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) conducted an opinion poll between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday less than 24 hours after the tests The poll was conducted in six metropolitan cities in India- Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The total sample size of 1007 adults was equally split among men and women and further among three age groups: 15-24 years, 25-34 years and 35 years and above. Opinions were sought from those who were aware that India had conducted the nuclear tests the day before.

The findings show that an overwhelming majority of the respondents approved of India conducting the nuclear tests (91 per cent vs 7 per cent), while two per cent of those interviewed did not offer any opinion.

A large number of respondents felt that Pakistan would take some active measures to counter India's testing of nuclear devices. Respondents felt that the most likely response would be Pakistan conducting tests of its own (80 per cent). The dominant feeling was that Pakistan would seek help from the US (73 per cent), China (60 per cent) and ask other countries to impose sanctions on India (67 per cent).

However, only 33 per cent felt that Pakistan would sign a no-war treaty with India while 45 per cent felt that there would be a breakdown in talks with Pakistan.

As far as China was concerned most respondents felt that its response would be more muted than Pakistan's. More than half felt that China would now help Pakistan to produce a nuclear weapon of its own. A significant proportion (46 per cent) felt that China would actually target its nukes towards India. However, only 29 per cent thought that this event would lead to a breakdown of talks between China and India.

There was tremendous support for India actually building nuclear bombs of its own. While 82 per cent felt that India should build a nuclear arsenal, 76 per cent felt that it would actually go ahead and do so. The response to India signing the CTBT was lukewarm, with only 39 per cent approving. About two-thirds of the respondents felt that the US would increase pressure on India to sign the CTBT, while just over half thought that it would actually go as far as imposing trade sanctions on India. Interestingly opinion was almost equally divided on whether the US would encourage Pakistan's nuclear programme.

The two major reasons for India conducting the nuclear tests at this juncture were felt to be the testing of the Ghauri missile by Pakistan (55 per cent) and China increasing its military presence in the region (47 per cent).

More than half (52 per cent) of the respondents felt that India would not be engaged in a nuclear war with either Pakistan or China in the next 10 years In other words, India's nuclear capability would act as a deterrent. However,32 per cent felt that there were chances of India and Pakistan having a nuclear war in the next 10 years.

The possibility of a nuclear confrontation with Chiha alone was the perception of only four per cent of the respondents India's tests have elicited varied feelings among the populace. A massive 91 per cent felt proud of the country's achievement, while 76 per cent felt more secure as citizens While two-fifths felt that the BJP government had gone ahead with the tests only to increase its popularity, two-thirds of the respondents felt more reassured about the government after these tests