Slashdot Mirror
India Debating Manned Space Flight
alphakappa writes "India's moon mission and other space programs have been covered before on Slashdot. India is now debating sending a manned space mission and has acknowledged it's technological preparedness to do so in the next 6-7 years if given the go-ahead. The issues being debated before starting work on the mission include cost-benefit and other space priorities. (These missions also play host to international experiments) What does the general slashdot crowd think of these space plans?"
The efficient British administration bungled on this as late as Bengal Famine, 1943. In fact, 3 million are supposed to have died in this famine, and caused , among other things, caused Amartya Sen to take up economics, in particular, famine studies.
On the other hand, basic science (like space research) deserves to be encouraged by all (civilized) nations. Imagine medieval Italians or 18th century Britons waiting till all poverty was eradicated. Science and civilization do not progress in such a manner.
Finally something that made me post my views to ./ For starters, I am an Indian living in the US.
First, I should salute the original poster for having the heart to come back & apologize for his/her condescending remark. I have seen many dish out belittling comments like that in the past about India & have abosoultely no remorse whatsoever.
This captures the gist of one of biggest lessons I have learnt after coming to this country. Humans, operate on stereotypes a lot more than they think they do. Where else will I learn this other than from living in the melting pot of world cultures, United States.
The problem with the stereotypes is that they don't justify reality. For example, before I came here, I thought of America as Utopia. Everyone is happy, educated, smart & has decent living conditions. I was shocked to learn that double digits percentage of the population was illiterate & lived below poverty line. I was also shocked to see how religiously conservative this country is.
Similarly, India is not full of cows & half-naked people & diseases. Overpopulation is India's biggest problem & it infact amazes me how much we have accomplished 'in spite of' the problems it faces. I am not going to go in to the boastful mode. I am sure you have heard or will hear about it.
In terms of the humor, lets face it, everyone deserves to have their personal opinion on things. But, the context in which you share it with others is important. A world renowned place like Slashdot is definitely not the context. Take Brit golfer Paul Casey's comments on America for that matter. He said, "Americans are stupid" to some British press two days ago. His sponsor Titelist pulled out of the contract right away & many American golfers condemned his remark. Could we expect Americans to say, "Oh, cummon, that is his personal opinion. Lets move on". No, of course they will be aggravated. Because, they know not ALL americans are stupid. The same way, not ALL Indians are grazing cows.
For those who brought up Pakistan, glad you did. I will not be surprised if India offered a seat for Pakistan in its mission. We are brothers and sisters after all & you will be surprised how many friendship gestures are shared by the us.
To summarize,
"Let noble come to us from all sides"
-Rig Veda (3000+ years old Indian scripture)