In a 2006 interview, P. K. Iyengar, a former chairman of the AEC, was asked whether Bhabha was "keen" on India becoming a nuclear weapons state. In response, Iyengar stated: "Dr Bhabha had in his mind from the very beginning that India should become a Nuclear Weapons State. His emphasis on self-reliance is essentially due to the fact he wanted India to be a nuclear weapons country."