This article, which focuses on the political decision making around the leadership of India's Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), shows how this process both decentralized scientific authority in India and led to changes in India's nuclear programme. New evidence presented from the deliberations of the Prime Minister's Secretariat (PMS) shows that Vikram Sarabhai, appointed chairman of the AEC in 1966, following the sudden death of the previous leader, Homi Bhabha, was the favoured candidate from the start of the process. His view on India's nuclear programme contrasted sharply with that of his predecessor, but his authority was protected, in part, from external challenge by the jurisdictional decisions made by the PMS. This article argues that the ambiguity inherent in India's developing nuclear programme was not the result of the apprehension of external threat, but the result of internal tensions within the relevant institutions, which are both revealed and (partially) resolved by the appointment process for the new chair.

本文着重讨论围绕印度原子能委员会（AEC）领导层做出的政治决策，展示了这一过程如何既分散了印度的科学权威，又导致了印度核计划的变化。总理秘书处（PMS）的审议提供的新证据表明，在前任领导人霍米·巴巴（Homi Bhabha）突然去世后，1966年被任命为AEC主席的维克拉姆·萨拉拜（Vikram Sarabhai）从这一过程开始便是最受青睐的候选人。他对印度核计划的看法与他的前任形成鲜明对比，但由于PMS做出的管辖权决定，部分地保护了他的权威不受外部挑战。本文认为，印度