Abhin Sahu

I think it might be important to contextualise Chandrayaan-3's success story, for a lot of people outside of our country.

India has just put a 2-meter-tall lander on the Moon. With a mass of just over 1,700 kilogrammes it is lighter than a lot of SUVs out there. We have also become the first country to land on the south pole of the Moon. This is an important fact because the south pole of the Moon is where water was discovered (again, by Chandrayaan-1, though, I am not certain if other countries had found it too). This discovery has made the south side of the Moon the most viable location for setting up a lunar base in the future.

Not only have we attained this feat, but we've done that at a cost of roughly INR 615 crores, which is about USD 75 million (someone please check my maths on this, I am never completely certain). For contrast's sake, the budget of the movie Interstellar was USD 165 million, and Mission Impossible 7 was USD 291 million. These numbers aren't even close to the most expensive movies ever made.
And therein lies the real feat.

But these are facts easy for anyone to find. What will be a little more difficult to find online, or grasp if you are an outsider, is how we got here. And why this moment matters as much as it does.

We are a country that has achieved this, in such an unprecedented cost-efficient manner, just over 70 years after we became independent. It took us that many years, and many Kalams, Sarabhais, Thomases, Radhakrishans, and countless others, to get there. It took a whole education system that is built on dedication and meticulosity (almost too much, some would say). It took a culture that prides itself on ingenuity and least-cost-operation models, endearingly (and sometimes mistakenly) called Jugaads. It's not as bad a word as it is made out to be, especially if it works!

But this is where this story, sadly, needs to be contextualised even for some fellow Indians.

This is who we were until we chose to forget it and focus on other things that don't matter; and shouldn't matter. This is what we stand to lose if we continue to fire teachers who tell the students "to not vote for uneducated politicians". This is who we would have never become if we didn't have the foundations that were set over the last seventy years; foundations we are now so hell-bent on demolishing. This is who we might never be again if we make a political agenda of who we are glorifying too much or not glorifying enough in our history books, rather than focussing on what's in our science books; and what kind of a future we risk losing by falling into such trivial pursuits.

To contextualise the amount of INR 615 crores a bit more, especially for us Indians - Between Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi, and a few other scamsters, Indian Banks have lost over INR Rs 5,00,000 crores in just the last ten years (RTI-backed data). Modi Government has spent Rs 3,000 crore on advertisements, just since 2018. We can extrapolate it for the rest of the years they've been in power. It's not only about them actually. We spent 1700 crores on the bridge in Bhagalpur that fell twice in 14 months. Such stories are quite commonplace from all over the country, regardless of which government is in power.

So yes, let's celebrate Chandrayaan-3's success as a much-needed reminder of all that we can be, at a crucial time when we seem to be set on on losing it.

Well done, ISRO!
Wake up, India!

PS - This post is coming from an emotional plane. I am a proud Indian, today and every day; but at the same time a concerned and disillusioned one too. I should think most of the numbers stated in the post are accurate (and can be verified with a bit of research). But if you're going to come back to troll me because some numbers are a bit off, then you've missed the whole point of the post.

In this techno savvy era, where the world is taking a shift from offline retail to e-commerce, small things of our daily usage which we are ignorant about makes us stop and think where we are leading!

India is a land of diverse traditions and culture. Advancement in technology can’t take back from us the traditional practices and methods of consuming resources. An grassroots alternative to hi-tech filtration systems is the Earthen Pots.

Even though humans are progressing and exploring new ventures for development,The biggest setback of it is exploitation of resources. The limited resources are getting exploited and depleted resulting in unequal distribution of resources among the people.

Need of the hour is to go sustainable! It will be difficult to survive if we go away from nature. Earthen pots can cool water without electricity. After breaking it depletes into the ground. Indeed it can be reused and recycled. The design value of earthen pots makes it hundred percent ecofriendly.

Over the period of time India's simple style of molding clay went into an evolution. A number of distinct styles emerged from this simple style, but beliefs attached to it did not change.

Truly, ancient traditional beliefs influence our lifestyle and have resulted in sustaining the form of earthen pots. Hence, the age old practices have the strong base grounds from which modern technology can take inspiration and could be redesignedin such a way that the human needs for water and its storage are accomplished.

As Summer is here, it is time for the people to look out for some cool water and what could be better than the water from an earthen pot.

Abhin Sahu is now on WhatsApp.

The poster of a documentary film Kaali that depicts Hindu goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette has sparked outrage on social media.

The outrage is calling it blasphemous for hurting religious sentiments. That their Maha Kaali is being mocked and demeaned. They are calling for action on the filmmaker Leena Manimekalai.

Yes, being ignorant and biased you have the right to oppose.

What these people don't understand is the Gods worshipped down South have their own identity - far from our baby faced, calm Gods. Do we know "their" Maha Kaali loves booze, ci**rs, drinking blood and eating meat during rituals? That it is acceptable in Southern India to have a raw, non-apologetic, politically incorrect Gods?

Gods here have darker skin tone, broad nose, they frown; unlike the Gods we worship who is fair, straight nosed and thin lipped.

Being ignorant is one thing, thrusting your idea of acceptable identity is another. What's foolish is taking umbrage over the fact that your repetitive imposition is being thrown into a waste basket.

Moreover, In a country where the President bends his back 90 degrees to pay obeisance to two pudding faced actors dressed up as Ram & Lakshman, an actress smoking cigarette when she is dressed up to enact her role as Kali, or if the character Kali itself is smoking, this reaction is not a surprise.

Lord Shiva can be shown smoking in a chillum but Goddess Kaali has to adhere to some archaic ‘Goddess Rules’!!

Have you guys any idea about the rituals of Shiva, Shakti, Ta**ra and Ta***ic kali in the countryside? That's their beliefs. We simply have no idea of the diversity of india.

I admire the original Hanuman and reject the angry orange monkey on car windshields...

Hanuman wasn’t angry even when he was setting alight Lanka. He was playful. His tail was on fire but his mind was stithpragya. He had spoken with Sita. He had accepted her decision not to come along. He was fine being a messenger. He had no problem in making himself tiny and escaping Sursa.

Hanuman went in search for Sanjivani booti and got the mountain (Dronagiri/Rishabhadri). He wasn’t angry then too.

He was always at peace. At peace with his unbroken devotion to Ram. At peace with his strength. At peace with his knowledge. He made all his decisions willingly and thoughtfully. His Bhakti wasn’t blind. He never forego his prerogative to make his own decisions. His devotion is not servile. He calls himself das but he wasn’t a slave. No one else called him one.

The Hanuman in our culture is playful, kind and learned.

The angry version is manufactured. It hurts everything central to Hinduism. Being peaceful has been our strength not a weakness. Whenever someone used violence as a Hindu, it has hurt us more than any enemy ever could. Hanuman destroys conflict and sides with good intentions.

"बल बुद्धि बिद्या देहु मोहिं, हरहु कलेस बिकार.."

They did nothing.

The BJP was supporting VP Singh(Janata Dal) at the center during that time and I do not remember them protesting against this. The VP Singh government fell because Advani’s Rath Yatra was stopped and hence they pulled the support from the government. This was after the persecution of the Kashmiri pandits.

They way the BJP and RSS shed crocodile tears for the Kashmiri pandits now, this should have been an issue to let the government fall during that time. After this government, two BJP governments were formed, before the UPA. Still nothing was done. Even now it is just an emotional issue to gain electoral advantage.

The issue of the Kashmiri pandits was primarily brought into national prominence by the far right, after the Godhra 2002 riots, along with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, to justify similar horrendous crime against innocent minorities, as happened in Godhra.

This was a classic case whataboutery to tell people who were protesting against the Godhra riots, that if you did not speak then, why are you speaking now?

Honestly such was the lack of focus on this issue that many people did not know about the issue of Kashmiri pandits before that. Though it was propagated for a sinister purpose, still it is a silver lining that people came to know. However the bottom line is that we should be collectively ashamed that such brutal persecution happened in India whether it was 1984, 2002 or Kashmiri pandits.

I feel sorry for the Kashmiri pandit community. First they were subjected to inhuman persecution. Then they were forgotten. Then used just as a tool to justify other genocides and crimes against humanity. Then used as election rhetoric for votes! But no government has been able to do anything for them. Unfortunately they are not a big enough vote bank.

The state government during that time, the central government and subsequent Congress and BJP governments are all responsible for the apathy towards them and the poor conditions they are in.

We have failed them as a nation.

As a policy maker, you are confronted by the following problems in the economy:

1. Unemployment
2. Overall drastic reduction in income of lower and middle strata
3. Booming rural poverty due to unviable prices for farm products
4. High food and fuel prices both of which have inelastic demand
5. Rising malnutrition levels amongst poor
6. Massive load on health sector due to covid and even otherwise causing people to die due to inability to avail of hospital beds or oxygen
7. Large scale closure of MSMEs and consequent retrenchment of employees
8. Dropout of students from schools due to inability of parents to afford children's education

What is required in such a state of the nation is starting the healing process..We have grandiose schemes of huge spend on infrastructure, reduction of taxes on diamonds. No solution for the poor, no boost for education, health and MSMEs, nothing for the farmers, middle class, skirting issue of employment, measly allotment for MNREGA, no meaningful solution for malnutrition.

2022-23 Budget is a classic neo-liberal one where trickle down theories have guided budgetary allotments and overall spending is oriented towards controlling fiscal deficit. Spending huge sums on infrastructure such as highways will not lead to massive growth in employment. Most such projects are capital-intensive and such projects are usually handed over to cronies like Adani. Suck out liquidity from the poor and reward the rich who may promptly deposit their surplus cash in Panama, Cayman Islands etc.

Perhaps it is not. Lack of knowledge that has led to such perverse policies. It is a deliberate move to impoverish the population, enrich a couple of cronies and keep drawing funds from them to keep the ruling party flushed with funds.You can then rule for 50 years.

The nation is doomed.

The meaning of food is an exploration of culture through food. What we consume, how we acquire it, who prepares it is a form of communication that has a rich cultural base.

Odisha is a state of varieties. With each step one will experience the vibrance of the state. The state exhibits diverse cultures, traditions, and even distinct food which are unique in itself.

an authentic Odia cuisine restaurant is inaugurated by the honourable CM of Odisha Naveen Patnaik at Bhubaneswar. The Govt of Odisha has also chalked plans to open similar restaurants at Puri Blue Flag Beach and Rani Bakhri (Queen’s Palace) of Sambalpur soon.

The world map will now find Odia delicacies and their amazing way of cooking which will definitely add a glorious page to this journey. In today’s polluted lifestyle, authentic homestyle food is the only way to survive.

Kudos Otdc Odisha Tourism for such an endeavour. Hoping for the Best ❤️

https://g.co/kgs/igFiJG

Don't we have enough of cricket stadiums!! It's Time to promote other sports. A country of 1.3 billion shouldn't play cricket only.There are other disciplines where India can excel. The country needs to give equal importance to hockey, football, athletics, tennis, badminton and boxing etc.

Let's not make a country with billion cricketers of which only 11 will represent the country. Rather a country with billion sports lover in diversified field.

World’s third largest cricket stadium to be made in Jaipur The new stadium will be third largest cricket stadium in the world after the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera and the Melbourne Cricket Stadium in Australia that can hold 132,000 and 100,024 spectators respectively.

Had the government followed the rule of law and followed expert advice the 2nd wave would have been anticipated. Without being advised by experts or ignoring their advice on matters of public health, no preparations were made for the second wave in terms of medical infrastructure, equipment for oxygen supply, and ventilators. As a result, the consequences on the ordinary people were devastating who went through a nightmare without any succour from the government. There were lakhs of preventable deaths.

It is clear that decision-makers in the executive neither anticipated nor planned for the second wave of the pandemic, but allowed super spreader events to go on in defiance or ignorance of the advice by committees set up for the purpose.

While the continuously mutating Novel Coronavirus wreaks havoc on lives, India’s commitment to spend on healthcare, health research in particular remains weak. The imbalanced expenditure on different healthcare schemes further weakened India’s response to the second wave. Investment in health must rise at least to what government committees, experts and policies recommend.

Since Independence, India’s health research has not seen any substantial expenditure, and people pay the price for it year after year. India needs new research facilities across the country. Without this, the health sector cannot improve, and there is no better time than now to understand this.

In the name of Affirmative Action, I must say the Reservation System in India is advocating inequality. One will say, equality means to treat two similarly capable people equally. Means we cant treat deprived with privileged class and so on. Agreed.

Basically Reservation was introduced to bridge the gap between the so called upper caste the and lower caste. It was initiated as a trial method for initial years after independence so that after this period the government can recast this system and come to a more logical solution for the racial bias problem, but it has been more than 70 years of Indian Independence, the aspiring Global Economic Power India is still issuing Caste Certificates, Thanks to our so called Political Leaders !!

The sustained continuance of Reservation points at one or more of these:
🔴 Inability to lift the Backward Classes, SCs, STs, etc. from their predicament and assimilate them into the mainstream.
🔴 Competitive vote-bank politics being played in the name of caste.
🔴 Limited understanding of the goals of the Constitution.
🔴 Lack of a vision of a post-reservation India,
🔴 Unwillingness or inability to address the root of the problem.

The number figure of underprivileged caste in 2021 is a lot more than that of figure of 1947. Because today, more are demanding to include them in underprivileged. Caste based differences and incidents are still there. But how Reservation in the name of Education and Jobs can eliminate it??I do not support the Caste System and in the same breath do not agree with the Reservation System.

Underprivileged should be supported by welfare state irrespective of caste and religion. Rather than providing reservation in Colleges and Government jobs, strive to provide them scholarships, free education to low-income people and their offsprings irrespective of caste and religion. But it coined Affirmative Action to perpetuate discriminations.

Reservation is a two-front war and needs to be fought on both fronts. First to be fought by our Government by bringing in enough resources for remote and rural areas development and helping the backward tribes. The second front has to be fought by those is always eager to know others' caste, by all those who discriminate against poor and backwards, by those who are very well aware of their rights of equality but unaware of the same duty which is to treat everyone with equality.

Let’s bring in the change in ourselves from this moment itself. You can’t bring equality by treating others badly. You can’t be fair by being unfair. And this rule applies to all.

Because Not every DNA carries Wealth and Intelligence, Not everyone with a surname needs upliftment.
It's time to stop being greedy n help the , else cut that lie, Right to .

Why can't we substitute bamboo over plastic!! Being more eco-friendly and promoting the Vocal For Local , it could help not only the craftsmen to earn more but also this industry to grow more.

The price of bamboos has been increasing, however the crafts are still being sold at lower prices. How can the craftsmen afford to make these handicrafts at a time when prices of necessary commodities are increasing day-by-day!! The lack of incubation center or business incubator in India for training and development of bamboo based industries is the another concern.

Bamboo industries moreover can be created at craft level with maximum villager involvement and relatively low capital requirements. Bamboo based industries can therefore provide the time and space for evolutionary development of the rural economy.

We have Resources, Talents, Skills everything in place except proper Policy and Marketing Strategy. If West Countries did this, Wouldn't it be a style statement in the world??

Lets make eco-friendly products fashion again !!!!

Periods are a normal & natural part of life.
A woman's biological cycle should never become a barrier in the way of her opportunities.Every girl has a right to manage her period safely and with dignity.

🔴Let's break ❌ the taboo and raise awareness about it.
🔴Educate and make people aware of menstrual hygiene.

Women pay the price for persisting our generation every month. Here's a day to consider their ordeal. Removing the stigma associated with menstruation and stopping period shaming is what we must pledge to do from now on.

Condoms should be sold, Sanitary Pads should be given for Free, because S*x is a Choice, Menstruation is Not...

Respect for women❤

So this is what is happening in Lakshadweep. A concerted move to sever ties between Kerala and the island. A relationship that goes back by decades. To the administration what the people of the island want is irrelevant. Why?

Anti-beef regulations in the name of animal preservation; countless casual workers expelled. Why?

Alcohol brought back into the island; fishing sheds which had an exemption being demolished in the name of Coast Guard Act.

Why is the new administration changing the social and economic fabric of Lakshadweep ? Or is this the start of a pogrom?

Against an imperialist China we turn belly up and secede land. But against our own unarmed fisherfolk of Lakshadweep, Central Government unleashes all sorts of atrocities to destroy their very identity. That too in a pandemic. Cowards!

In a first by any corporate house, Tata Steel has rolled out a social security scheme for its employees, under which, nearest kin of an employee who dies of Covid, will get the last drawn salary till 60 years of age of the deceased along with the housing and medical benefits.

In addition, for all its deceased frontline employees, Tata Steel would bear all the expenses of their children’s education till graduation in India.

Salute to the compassion in this beautiful gesture. Take a bow❤️

It's pathetic that in a such a big democratic country we don't have world class emergency services. No where in the country helicopters are made available to Fire department or Police department. If there had been a helicopter available with the fire department on that day those lives could've been saved. Helicopters are only for election campaigns of political parties...

While the incompetence of the Indian government is starkly visible in its handling of the second wave of the Covid-19 crisis, its performance has been far worse on the vaccine front.

Covid-19 | Serum’s supply to COVAX hit by India’s poor planning Serum Institute now has a hope of starting to deliver vaccines to the COVAX facility and other countries only by the year end.

Shallow sand graves of people, some of whom are suspected to have died from the coronavirus, are seen on the banks of the river Ganges in Shringaverpur, India.

📷 Ritesh Shukla