Chandrayaan- 1

Last sunday when I went through the "Hindu" open page, there was an article that mentioned about the state spending on missiles and moon missions. It was then that I thought I should take out an article I wrote in my diary dated 22-10-'08

Chandrayaan- 1

      The Rs. 386 crore moon mission of India, Chandrayaan-1 has been successfully launched today. Chandrayaan-1 is the first Indian lunar satellite and the mission period is 2 years. It entered its preliminary orbit today, dropped as programmed by the PSLV C-11 carrier vehicle that took off from Sriharikottah this morning. PSLV is an indegenous satellite launching vehicle and this its 3rd consecutive success. With this India is elevated to the elite group of nations that are members of the moon research project viz Russia, U.S, Japan, China and EU.

     No doubt, this is a great milestone for ISRO and the media is celebrating the event with all enthusiasm. Chandrayaan is even sending a probe to study the moon's surface!! 

     On this momentous day, every Indian feels proud. I met people saying this project would help India's overall development. Others said it would instantaneously elevate India's stature as a global super power. I said, well it might be true, considering the 40 crores of starving tummies we have to feed.

    400 crores of rupees for Indians to know the moon better? Can I make a suggestion here? Lets  first learn how to read and write!! With around 35 crores of people people who've never touched a pen in their lives, its very appropriate to send a mission to study the complexities of the moon.

Here are some facts about our country.

• 71% of the rural population don't have minimum sanitation facilities. They excrete in the open.
• 40 crores of Indians can't afford three meals a day
• The largest number of malnourished children live in India.
• Electricity hasn't reached 20% of India's rural areas.

Surprised? there's even more. Not even 1% of the GDP is spent towards healthcare facilities. India is way behind most of sub Saharan Africa when it comes to crucial infrastructure like roads.

      I'm a staunch supporter of progress in scientific research. But our focus at the moment must be in narrowing the gap between the urban middle class and the majority of our population that continues to live in sub human conditions. Scientific research should be in most crucial areas like cheap and renewable energy for the millions who still live in the dark, cheap housing and sanitation facilities, irrigation, drinking water, roads and basic infrastructure that would raise the quality of life, usher in new industries and drive our economy right from the roots. Space technology and moon missions can wait.

     As long as there are over 400 million people whose lives revolve around procuring by any means a meal to keep them alive, all the hype surrounding the so- called  milestone of ISRO seems meaningless.

  

Josephine Varghese

22-10-'08

My life

Until last week, i had hope... hope of reaching my destination.. But as things turned out, I'll have to wait longer for it. And the more time passes, the more uncertain it becomes..

I want to start my career as soon as possible, so that I can contribute my maximum, at the earliest. But I'm let down.. By whom? By myself. I have to give it another shot..

Well, tomorrow, I'm leaving.. my little part time job- source of confidence and ofcourse money- at stake.. I've already lost some precious days of class.. Oh yes, I'll be coming back in less than a month.

Disheartened I am- no- I should never be.. For true brave fight even when defeat is certain.

Good Bye.

(will see you soon)

About Earth's true God!

SUN GOD

For Anaximander and Hacateus you were

Revolving round a flattish earth- the centre of the universe!

Bathing in the 'ocean river' and rising up every morning

You were a wonder, a phenomenon beyond what humans-

mortal worms could fathom.....

You truly WERE amazing!

The source of all energy and life

You are the true God of this watery blue planet, Earth!

Thousands of scientists, you produced, who tried to study you

Millenniums passed, you still are the king

You truly ARE amazing

Today as the world is suffering, of hunger and lack of energy,

You, the source of all energy, all life, stand up there smiling!

"Can't you see? I'm right here, the answer to all your problems!"

Surya Bhagavan, the Sun God, whatever we may call you,

You truly WILL BE amazing, for all times!!

And as I watch you from my little balcony,

You sink into the horizon, leaving kumkum trails behind..

I've watched you do this a thousand times... everyday!

Yet you are amazing

You were amazing

You will be amazing, for all times!!

[As i spoke to my friend today, he claims to have found a solution to the hunger crisis- he claims that by concentrating on the sun, in a process of "sun gazing", energy could be extracted directly from the sun, a substitute to food!! I doubt the technology he suggests, but i'm sure ultimately man will find more efficient methods to tap sun's humungous supply of energy!]

What does India urgently require?

What are the key issues to be dealt by the next Government?
The election to the 15th Lok Sabha has been successfully conducted and the results have been announced.. It is very important that the electorate analyses the present state of our country and makes it clear to the various parties and politicians what exactly India needs, what should be done for a brighter future and what are the key issues to be handled.

Before jumping to hasty conclusions, each citizen should educate himself/herself about India, and what we urgently need to catapult India to sustained and inclusive development, as soon as possible.

A recent survey by The Week shows that, Economic slowdown is the issue that worries the most number of people. Internal security and terrorism scares a chunk of 17% of the people who participated in the survey. Corruption is the most important issue to be dealt with, say 14% of them. Employment opportunities, stability of government and good leadership, farmer indebtedness, NREGA( National rural employment guarantee act), Indo- US nuclear deal, Secularism/Hindutva etc are found as key issues by others.. it was quite shocking to learn that a mere 4% feel that education is a key issue, in a country with around 50 crore people who cant even write or read.

The number of people who have taken part in this particular survey, may be, at the maximum, a few thousand, and so, its results, I believe, do not represent the interests of India as a whole. The huge chunk of India, living in the rural areas, has little participation in such surveys.

In the same weekly, I have read certain shocking and extremely saddening facts about our country. in rural Karnataka, children from the age of 6 work for daily wages at beaten rice mills, in inhuman conditions. Above 60% of our rural areas don’t have proper sanitation facilities; thousands live as scavengers, collecting human excreta from house to house, getting a pittance. There are farmers who starve to death or commit suicide due to rapidly increasing debts almost every day.

The literacy rate of women is still deplorable. The rapidly ageing population is deprived of any social security- India is the only developing country in the world which provides no social security/benefits to senior citizens. The rural India lacks infrastructure like electricity, roads, proper sanitation and health systems in our villages. Drinking water and proper transportation facilities are scarce in most of the rural areas. The country is still in the grip of social evils such as dowry, honour killings and unscientific methods of curing diseases.

The education system in most of the schools and colleges are outdated. Corruption is looming large. Terrorism is yet another burning issue. Growing number of slums, unemployment and inefficient bureaucracy and administration system adds to the thousands of other problems of our country. Harassment and attacks against women brings up the question of security of women. Even today, a woman is not safe in the streets of our country.

The infrastructure of our country is still very poor, compared to other developing countries such as China, South Africa, Brazil, Malaysia etc. Due to this, India still lacks an investor friendly environment despite the cheap labour and human resource available here. Proper economic reforms and moves are to be taken to shield the country from further effects of the recession and heal the harm already done.

Analysing the whole situation, it is clear that for the country to progress, development activities should reach even the most remote areas. For that, I believe, prime focus should be laid on infrastructure development- roads, railways, electricity etc. Once these issues are taken care of, an industry- friendly environment will be created throughout the country and agricultural goods of the local farmers can be easily transported to the other parts of the country. As new industries prop up, employment opportunities will naturally increase, thus empowering more and more rural Indians with financial security, which will in turn improve their standard of living.

Schools should be set up in rural areas such that there is one school in every 3 square kilometres, and education for children under 14 should be made compulsory. Also, female literacy camps should be set up to educate women. Empowering women, who constitute almost half of the population is inevitable for any county’s progress, moreover, a child’s 1st teacher and guide is always its mother.

Another area to be highlighted is agriculture. Majority of Indians still depend on agriculture for a living. But it is seen than, unlike other sectors, agriculture shows very little growth annually. This is due to the fact that over 90% of the farmers still depend upon the age-old methods for cultivation. Agriculture is still a gamble in our country, which depends on weather Gods and a minor change in the usual pattern will cause huge damage to the crops. Indian farmers lack proper irrigation facilities and modern technology like tractors, tillers, high yielding variety seeds, effective modern fertilizers etc. I don’t believe that loan waivers are going to give more than a temporary consolation to a very few farmers. The recent loan waiver project of the government, which failed to create much of a difference, is a testimony to this. Farmers should be empowered with latest technology and infrastructure. The money allocated for such loan waivers should be used to distribute newly developed crop varieties and machinery at a subsidised rate.

Another area that requires reform is the administrative system of each ministry. More transparency should be brought in to each department of the governing system. The Hong Kong model could be adopted for this. A new department or agency, independent of the government should be set up to keep an eye on each ministerial department, decisions taken and deals made. And the mode of operation should be thoroughly scrutinized and made available for public opinion and debate. This, I believe would reduce the corruption in each department.

For vast country like India, that has separate departments and administrative institutions for every single sector with educated bureaucrats at the helm of each, it wouldn’t be much of a problem to take care of all the development activities mentioned above parallelly.

This is what India needs urgently. This is what we seek from the next government.

Jai Hind.

THE DEATH OF THE TIGER

The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse announced victory in the war against the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Elam last yesterday. The Sri Lankan army today released video footage of what they claim to be LTTE supremo Vellupillai Prabhakaran’s body, with a huge bullet wound on his forehead. Yesterday, they had released images of the dead bodies of LTTE’s top brass including that of Prabhakaran’s eldest son, Charles Anthony and that of the chief of sea tigers, Soosai.

Vellupillai Prabhakaran was born in Valvettiturai, a small fishing town on Sri Lanka’s northern tip as the son of a minor civil servant and a religious woman. It is said that young Prabhakaran, who was a dutiful son and an introvert, got influenced by his parents’ recollection of the 1958 racial riots directed against the Tamils. His private tutor who was a member of the Tamil Federal Party also influenced him. Prabhakaran was drawn into the Tamil struggle after the Sri Lankan Government passed a series of legislations against the Tamils. The repeated violence against the Tamils in the 1950s, 60s and 70s motivated him to find a military solution for the Tamil problems.

Prabhakaran, still in his teens, in 1972, gave form to the Tamil New Tigers which soon got morphed into the LTTE. His first major assassination was in 1975, when he killed the mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duriappa. Thereafter he entered the wanted list of the Sri Lankan Police. He came to India to mobilize support for the Tamil cause.

Prabhakaran could not accept any other political organization or group coming forward for the Tamil cause except his. He wanted monopoly over it. Sohe murdered other Tamil Organizations’ Leaders who stood in his way. Anyone who opposed/disturbed his course of action would be in his hit list. The LTTE had grown from a small group of typical guerrilla fighters to a full fledged military, complety with navy and air force. The LTTE opposed the India- Sri Lanka Agreement signed between Indian PM Rajeev Gandhi and the Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayawardhane (1987). LTTE fought the Indian Peace Keeping Force deployed in Sri Lanka and defeated them, leaving almost 1200 Indian Troops dead. He was not ready for any sort of solution other than a separate nation for the Tamils.

The assassination of Rajeev Gandhi In Sri Perumbattoor by a suicide bomber, shortly followed (1991). This incident proved to cost a lot for the Tigers, as they lost the political support of the Indians. A string of assassinations and attacks followed, and it seemed that the war would never end. The northern Jaffna peninsula was virtually under the rule of the LTTE with Prabhakaran as its ruler. Funds flowed in from the Sri Lankan Tamil non-residents who supported the cause. Then in 2002, a cease fire was signed between the Sri lankan president, renal Wikramasinge and the Tamil Tigers in the mediation of Norway. The Tigers used this opportunity to fill their arsenals and to get ready for the next assault.

By mid 2006, the Tigers broke the cease-fire pact and resumed their attacks. In the summer of 2007 the government recaptured the Tiger- occupied area in the South eastern parts, forcing the tigers to retreat to their Vanni heartland. The govt. formally withdrew from the cease-fire agreement in January 2008. By now, the Tigers were losing heavily to the government due to many reasons:
· The switching of sides of many of the main commanders of the LTTE like col. Karuna, (who is now a minister in the Rajapakse govt), weakened the tigers.
· The number of people who supported the Tigers came down drastically as they started to realize the tigers hadn’t so far improved their conditions of living.
· The fund inflow from tamils across the world dwindled, as the LTTE was declared a terrorist organization and banned by most of the major nations.
· The Sri Lankan Army used guerilla warfare techniques, which the tigers did not anticipate.

The tigers got narrowed to a small strip in the north eastern side of the
Island nation. In January 2009, the army captured Killinoochi, sealing their victory over the Tigers. Now, all the top leaders including Velupillai Prabhakaran having been killed, Mahinda Rajapakse has created history by ending the Tiger Era. Though celebrations are on in Colombo marking the end of a 3- decade old war, the present government faces a lot of challenges. The Tamil issue doesn’t end unless and until they are given equal rights and opportunities and uplifted to the mainstream of the society. Lets hope the Sri Lankan Govt. takes the right steps in this direction as soon as possible to secure a peaceful and dignified life for each Tamil in the country.

Defeat (Story)

“The second world war, as you all know was an international conflict mainly between the Axis powers and the Allied powers…” The history professor went on amidst the yawns and hushed giggles of the students.

A war was going on in her own world about which the history professor seldom knew-A war in which she was bitterly failing.

….. It was penetrating into each and every cell of hers….she could feel it deep down….she realized… she was being defeated!!

Though pretty, she was very shy and dressed up in such a way that she could slip away unnoticed. She was, by all definitions, a nerd, a fact that she was well aware of. She never thought this would happen to her- by no chance!! Many a time, she could resist temptation. But this time, surrender was unavoidable. It did happen to her too.

She controlled her thoughts with a lot of effort and started listening to the lecture.
It was only when the professor came near her and shouted out her name that she discovered that her mind had wandered away from the Second World War yet again.

“ANITA” he growled.
The whole class burst into laughter. Anita was so shocked that her spectacles almost fell off her face when she got up from her seat.
Until then, she had been staring at the board, her chin in her hand.

“Y-y-yes, S-sir…” she said in a very low voice realizing what had just happened.

“I WILL NOT ALLOW DAY-DREAMING IN MY CLASS!! GET OUT!!”

“S-sorry sir….”

“I say, Get out!”

“Sir, please…. I won’t repeat this”

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR AN EXPLAINATION FROM YOU. GET OUT, THIS MOMENT!!”

Anita obeyed him reluctantly. She heard the door shut behind her.
There she was, in the deserted corridor of the History block. She walked nervously, with short steps, her head bowing down. Nothing of this sort had ever happened to her. She felt ashamed. “What’s happening to me?”


****************************************************
In the library, she saw a group of students sitting around a very thick book, reading from it and scribbling down something in a hurry. Anita walked past them, to the English section. She took out “Revolution from Within” by Gloria Steinem and started to read.
When she was about to turn the first page, she found out something – she had already forgotten what just happened in the class, neither had she followed a single sentence of the book…. Her mind was somewhere else! She was still thinking about it! ‘It’ was so beautiful…She lived in the memories of ‘it’… Her Love!! Yes, she was in love!


She shut the book and went towards the long line of shelves. It was there that she had first seen him.... Between the shelves, his first smile!

He was no where to be seen. There was no use of being in the library….


***********************************************************


As she wandered aimlessly through the picturesque campus, she felt someone touch her shoulder. She knew who it was.

A shiver ran through her spine the moment he touched Anita. She turned around.
“What are you doing here? You are supposed to be in your class now…” She was struggling to avoid eye contact while speaking. She knew that her eyes would betray her.

“I was thrown out of the class…” The manly voice replied.

“What for?”

“For dreaming”

“What were you dreaming about?” She enquired slowly and softly in an effort to hide her curiosity. Her heart was thumping hard.

After a pause, which, to Anita seemed like forever, he said firmly

“You”

Now Anita blushed, her face turning into a dark shade of pink. A fragrant breeze arrived, caressing her hair.
“You look more beautiful when you blush” he said, with a naughty smile.
At this, her face blossomed.

“Can I walk with you?”

*****************************************

They walked silently, between the huge trees that led to the garden. She sensed him looking at her all the time but was too shy to face him.

It was him who broke the silence.
“Anita….”
She turned to face him, still avoiding his eyes.

“You didn’t tell me why you are not in your class….”

Turning her head away from him, she smiled secretly. She really had lost the war…

*********************************************************
*********************************************************

..... And Along Came an Angel

Here's a little poem I wrote recently.

A dreamer

She saw no ugliness-
Beauty… Beauty alone!!
All men and women- angels
And earth and heaven not two!


A dreamer, indeed! The strongest wall, the greatest barrier-
Not thicker than air to her
For she could fly as swiftly through them
As a sparrow against the soothing breeze!

She was free!

Her smile –contagious -
Anyone who happened to see it
Couldn’t help returning one
As magical as hers!

She lived in her dreams!
As tender as a tulip bud,
As fragrant as the mountain breeze
The incarnation of innocence-
The most beautiful girl in the world!
She spread out her wings to fly
Spreading smiles and joy all the way
She knew not the evil awaiting her-
Man made barriers to her, unseen.

Until engulfed by evil hands
Dreams shattered and wings broken-
She lay down there, all alone..
Where had all the ‘angels’ gone?

Until one day he came along,
Built up her dreams and mended her wings
Though all the angels spat at her
He seldom paid heed.
- He took her tender arms in his
And together they spread out their wings!

The ‘angels’ on earth looked up at them,
Their eyes red with jealousy
As together, they rose to heights unseen
And danced to the tune of love!

Her beautiful eyes sparkled with joy
As she flashed a smile at him
Her smile was contagious, indeed!
He replied to her with a smile


A thousand times as magical as hers!
The most beautiful couple in the world.