Pride or Pity?
It is indeed a moment of pride for India today as it has successfully launched its first unmanned mission to the moon. Chandrayaan -1 as it is called, is a lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The 1,380 Kg lunar orbiter has pushed India among the list of few countries to have carried out this operation. It’s quite interesting to note the timing of this launch with the media absolutely dancing to the tunes of US elections and the global financial crisis. For the past few months, people have mostly been stuck to their television sets watching either the banks going into ruins or the US Presidential candidates taking each other’s pants off. The mention of India in the news was related either to bomb blasts, stampedes, protests, murders or corruption. In the wake of all this, the Indo-US nuclear deal followed by this very big achievement of Chandrayaan has made a huge difference to India’s position on the global platform.
I remember having read about this moon mission during my under graduation days when India had launched EDUSAT, its first satellite exclusively for serving the educational sector in 2004. It seemed like a milestone four years ago but we have achieved it and now the manned mission planned in 2020 doesn’t seem to be a distant dream. In the present day international world, it is quite important for a country to show case its talent to be counted among the developing nations so as to be able to guide its interest.
The coverage of international media of India’s achievement has been quite saddening though. On one hand appreciating the success they suddenly put the country on a high pedestal and on the other hand bring it right down by saying that the country doesn’t understand its priorities. A huge amount of money has been spent on the mission and it has been condemned by many activists and leaders worldwide as a waste of resources. I agree that India needs to diver its resources to stabilise its domestic situation which is quite disturbing due to issues like poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and low standard of living of a vast majority of population. But looking at the brighter side of things, a country that is home to a part of the bottom billion of the world has made huge advancements in the technological and scientific field and this something one needs to appreciate.
If India wants to go up the ladder of development, it surely needs to acquire the skills of striking the accurate balance between development and welfare. No country can go on making with the process of development on the cost of its own people. The day India learns how to strike the right balance and diverts its resources towards both equally, there will be less humiliation that the country will have to face even on a moment of pride!!!