My day started with a colleague congratulating me on the successful launch of “Chandrayan”. Its kind of weird, but then to even envision, that in the height of Cold War and the Space Race the mighty Russians did not really have moon on their “Radar” , is kind of weird. Add to it the conspiracy theories of the US Appolo mission actually being a hoax. Hence given the fact that India being the only country post the 1972s to map the moon, it gave me a sense of immense pride, and well speaks volumes about the scientific fraternity of the country.
Bob (my colleague) also pointed out that it cost (only) USD 80 million for this mission whereas the average launch in US costs more than half a billion leading to the discussion that whether in the future we might see even space technological outsourcing contracts heading to the Asian countries. And while we had a laugh at the seemingly stupid idea, I could not help pondering at the money factor.
Well India is Shining may have been a very nice statement to read on paper but in reality, we are where we were a decade or more back. Globalization, the industrial boom, IT revolution and all in its partake have ensured that the rich got richer, the upper middle class became rich, middle class became upper middle class – but what about that class of people whose lives have not been touched by the above? They have stayed where they were. So essentially what we have done is create a bigger rift between the classes of people. And when you really look at the total number of people who don’t get a square meal a day then the money spent on the Moon Mission appears a bit flimsy.
Well I am no Saint, no preacher and neither am I a radical leftist. But yes I am a socialist at heart. The reason why I work for an Indian company founded by India, paying taxes to the Govt. of India and contributing in a minuscule way to the GDP. That’s my part, I play that and am happy with it. In a country where inflation is a burning issue, where sanitation is a bane for many, where healthcare is a dream for millions and still many many people don’t have electricity in their homes, is it really prudent to have an elaborate and expensive Moon mission. What would we significantly achieve by landing on the moon other than pumping our fists to say “WE DID IT”. My take – Shouldn’t we have done something else?
