From My Diary - Yes, we can chant

This one is a very good piece . must read for all . it is written by Balbir K. Punj , M P . Did anyone in India hear Isro’s ‘Yes, we can’ chant? The very fortnight when America elected the first African-American as its 44th President, India successfully put a moon probe into orbit and landed a working package on moon. And as President-elect Barack Obama was working on taking over from the incumbent President in Washington, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chairman, Dr Madhavan Nair, was displaying to the media pictures of the moon’s surface taken by the Indian package. The media was naturally going all gaga over Isro’s achievement. India is the fourth country in the world to have reached the moon and got back moon’s close-ups. Not just that, the India-designed and constructed launch vehicle that carried the moon package also carried several instrumentation from other countries. This is an international recognition of our space capabilities. We now not only have outer space capabilities but our rockets can also place heavier satellites into precise, pre-determined orbits beyond the earth’s gravity. When we recall that only five years ago we were struggling with our launch vehicles that could not lift off satellites weighing over a ton, Chandrayaan-I marks a quantum jump. Last week, the Obama chant "Yes, we can" was widely quoted in the media as an American affirmation of its people’s self-confidence. But I wonder why the Indian media failed to point out that the success of Chandrayaan-I was an even bigger assertion of India’s self-confidence. The achievement has to be seen in the context of almost four decades of technology denial by the developed world to us. This denial meant that Isro had to develop its own solution to every problem it faced. Even commonly-available components like space grade solar panels, liquid propellants etc were on the banned list for India. For instance, after America imposed strict technology denial regime on India, France withdrew from its earlier commitment to provide a key liquid propellant for the PSLV rocket that Isro was then developing. But Isro scientists didn’t get depressed. They developed their own propellant and came out with an even better and safer method of manufacturing that propellant, though it meant a certain delay in the test flights of PSLV. Now PSLV has become an Indian achievement so much so that various countries, including France, Germany and Italy are entrusting their satellites and instruments for pace journey to India. The slogan "Yes, we can" has reverberated through India’s atomic energy and space establishments for decades. The atomic energy establishment developed India’s own nuclear reactors that have proved to be safer than those in the West, engineered to perfection research reactors like Dhruva that became the envy of the West, innovated new processes of making heavy water and nuclear fuel and even demonstrated a wholly India designed and made second-generation fast breeder reactor. Many in the establishment who were justifiably proud of this string of achievements were sorry that the UPA government changed track and went for western assistance, surrendering our sovereignty in this sensitive area. Space research was another area of demonstration of Indian capabilities. But self-deprecation seems to be a disease with us Bharatiyas. It may be a hangover from the centuries of suppression under foreign invasions. But if this tendency has continued half-a-century after Independence, the blame should rest with the leadership we have had in these decades. The comments after America elected a black man as President reflects this lack of pride in one’s own country and its abilities — especially questions like when will we have an Obama-like leader that are being posed in the media repeatedly. American democracy may be over 200 years old, but much of its shine is of recent origin. Great minds like Jefferson who drafted the Declaration of Independence document, however, ignored the hordes of slaves and them being given the same rights as the whites. It took another 100 years to free them from bondage and almost another 100 years to give them real voting rights. In our country, the Independence movement brought a declaration of equality before law for all, including women and the so-called scheduled castes. Voting rights to women was a 20th century development in western Europe. When the leaders of India’s Independence movement started drafting the Constitution they elected the brilliant B.R. Ambedkar to chair the drafting committee despite his caste background — thereby declaring the end of discrimination based on caste. Despite the ringing declaration of human rights in the Jefferson Document, Protestant America continued to exclude people from minority white groups like Catholics from its highest office. It was only in 1960 that a Catholic John F. Kennedy dared to contest and win the highest office of the land. America is secular but even today it would not dare to elect a non-Christian to any high office. Contrast this with what our own democracy has achieved within the first 60 years of its inception: Women as chief ministers, and even Prime Minister. Muslim as President, thrice, and chief ministers in several Hindu-majority states, a Sikh as Prime Minister — the demonstration of empowerment of people belonging to minority groups, women and scheduled castes and tribes, all within such a short time after a liberal Constitution was adopted reflect not only a legal loyalty to its guiding principles but also the Hindu mindset that accepts these basic principles as sacred. This larger acceptance, of course, does not necessarily mean the end of discrimination or caste and gender oppression. But just think of any Islamic country electing a non-Muslim to the highest office! Areas of darkness notwithstanding, India’s overall record is one of principles of liberalism in action. To ignore such a shining record of political achievement would only increase gloom and is basically wrong. Amidst so much self-deprecation after the Obama effect, one TV advertisement is worth mentioning. It reminds us that we as a people were the first to teach the world how to count (Aryabhatta), first to come out with a textbook on surgery (Susruta), first to demonstrate wireless communication (Jagdish Bose) and the first to develop non-violence as a political weapon (Mahatma Gandhi). This ad is a warm and commendable affirmation of our national ethos and justifiable pride as an ancient nation reborn in a young democracy. Millions of hard-working Indians are busy building a new India, declaring at the top of their voice India’s new found confidence that "Yes, we will". And much before Mr Obama and American said that.