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False prestige in space

Kashmir Times. Dated: 7/22/2015 12:36:51 PM

Instead of squandering its resources for mastering space technology, India should first concentrate on feeding its teeming millions of hungry people

India appears to be harbouring a false prestige in the race for space technology and joining a select group of less than half a dozen countries which have launched and mastered the technology for space missions at huge costs. Such costs incurred on the race for space by a poor nation like India where more than 40 percent of the population is living Below Poverty Line (BPL) and one third of the population having no or temporary shelters for saving themselves from the vagaries of nature. One third of the population in India goes off to sleep without meals in the evening while billions of dollars are spent on space race for earning a false prestige and to be counted among the half a dozen nations which have sent missions to the Moon and the Mars. The Martian mission on which an estimated amount of Rs 470 crores has been spent is prohibited by various factors. Indian scientists, no doubt, are second to none in the world and they deserve all credit for this achievement but the costs are too heavy for the poor people of the country to bear with. At least every citizens, whether they can afford two square meals for the day or not have contributed their hard earned money for the state exchequer. The teeming millions of hungry people deserve something better as deal and not the false prestige of joining a league of nations who have made space technology available to their people. It is sometimes a dream come true for the scientists not only in India but also other nations, which have sufficient funds for feeding their hungry populations and also spend lot of money for the welfare of their masses whenever the need has arisen on different occasions. In a nation, where millions of people do not have access to the basic healthcare facilities, lack opportunities for basic education despite the law for 'Right to Education' passed a few years ago to recognize that going to school is the right of every child. But the situation on the ground is entirely different because there are no schools where these poor children can go and get educated. Even if schools are opened in the hinterland, there is no building or teacher for the students. The shortage of teachers and absence of proper infra-structure has led to high dropout rate from among the students.
Apart from these discrepancies, it is high time that policy makers and planners in India should first think in terms of feeding hungry millions and check for ensuring basic education, basic healthcare facilities and providing at least housing for all before the nation embarks on ambitious space missions. The money required for one such mission in space is sufficient to meet the basic requirements of children for education and healthcare facilities. Similarly, it is also time that people question the harbouring of false prestige by politicians and some select group of scientists who think that sufficient money is available for draining out the scarce resources of the state exchequer. Apart from this, India also needs to revisit its policies so far as Public Distribution System (PDS) network for supply of rations to the poor people, who are facing the heat due to rising inflation of food products in a country which produces sufficient amount of foodgrains but do not reach the hungry souls due to acute corruption in the entire system. The nation should also think in terms of providing clean drinking water which the people have not got through a large network of tap water because of misplaced priorities and corruption. Similarly, the nation needs to concentrate on providing clean drinking because this alone can save millions of lives which are lost due to infections caused by polluted drinking water. The foodgrains are of substandard quality when they reach the BPL families, who have no other source of procuring their daily or monthly rations at subsidized prices. The children continue to wait for the daily feed of fresh or bottled milk and milk products which are very necessary for their healthy growth. Instead of joining the space race, the government of the day needs to fulfill the requirements of poor people at the basic before squandering away the precious resources on such projects.