The Future: Would greatness elude us? (Part II)

-

Skylab, US' first space station


 India is planning a space station (to be named, Bhartiya Antariksh Station) which might enter orbit in 2035, weighing about 20 tonnes. US sent its first space station to orbit in 1973. The International Space Station(ISS) that orbits earth today weighs 450 tonnes. it reached this mass by gradually adding successive modules and sometimes from the different partner nations in ISS Thus, Indian space station and space activities while being nimble and parsimonious are not in the same league as the United States. 

Not much different from the fact that millions of students attempt one of the toughest test for a few thousand seats at India's IITs. The myth making behind the successes of IITs are understandable given that when a people have very few things to look upto, they would worship whatever is better than the rest. But what sort of value addition takes place in the IITs. Not much. The very best of the world largest nation make it to the IITs, they are already on top of the food cycle. One the other hand a typical Indian student who studies at an American university gains a lot more. This student may not be the best  or the brightest. This is real value addition. This is possible in the US because they are much ahead of us in the game. In India we can neither match their quality nor their scale. Cooperation would enable us to adopt and adapt and change where change is needed.

Only recently in 2024, India has eliminated extreme poverty. But despite all hurdles Indians as individuals have achieved a lot. India should leverage this reality. Our institutions might not be the best but our people are among the best in the world. And the best do not leave India. The very best of Indian populace ends up in bureaucracy, Indian institutions, Indian corporations and other avenues of eking a living. More cooperation with west would offer Indians more opportunities to learn and improve. It might even change our not so good institutions that have had a history of failing its adherents. ISRO and Indian Navy have been exceptions when it comes to developing their wares in home. Unlike the air force and the army the desire to import is much less in the Navy. The Navy should not be penalised for its right course and better outcomes. Instead the navy should be encouraged and backed up. The SSNs of the Indian Navy similarly deserve more western input. While the Navy is glad to be the outlier and best performer when it comes to efficient use of the small budget that it gets, the question is what is the support or value addition done by the MoD or the GOI? Are they like the IITs happy to have the best with the hope that they would succeed anyway?

While navy builds its own SSN, western inputs if not another submarine building line involving Indian private sector on the west coast should be considered. By the 2050s US would be fielding SSNs that would be much more capable than anything China or Russia might field. India should not end up as a laggard on SSN technology. Teaming up with the US would allow Indian SSNs of 1960s-70s to be behind US but ahead of many others. India could see the value in such a proposition. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yasukuni Shrine, its effects on Politics. Japan in WW II and the role of Imperial Japanese Navy

-
Image
  First draft prepared on February 17, 2023. Still under work FIRST DRAFT: Kawaraban depictions of the US vessels visiting Japan. (Courtesy Yokohama Archives of History) Source: https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02197/the-black-ships-shock-a-historic-encounter-that-changed-japan.html  Every once in a while we note Japanese politicians visiting Yasukuni shrine, a Shinto shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo. This leads to strong reactions from Japan's neighbors. But Why? The website of the shrine at page for wills reads "We hope that many worshippers will come to know the thoughts of the noble souls who gave up their lives for the country they loved" South Korea's Yonhap News Agency has something different to say  on August 15, 2023 "South Korea expressed regret Tuesday after Japanese politicians sent offerings or paid visits to a war shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past on the anniversary of the country's surrender in World War II." And
Read more

What's in a name?

-
Image
What's in a name?  by IN1830 September 6, 2023 Fig. 1 HMS Trincomalee, built for the British Navy by the Wadias in Bombay, is the second oldest warship afloat. Image Source: Amarynceus on DeviantArt. Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/amarynceus/art/HMS-Trincomalee-730887160 (Accessed: 06 September 2023).  The first of May is celebrated as Maharashtra Day. Maharashtra is a state in Western India that is home to the western fleet of Indian Navy. On this day in 1830, the sea service of the East India Company (EIC) in India was elevated or christened as the Indian Navy as the EIC came under the crown. The company had got hold of the islands of Bombay in 1669, after it was transferred in 1668. With it they got pre-existing small ports to the north of Mendam’s point, on Bombay harbour, and the one on Mahim creek to the west, on Arabian Sea. The large Bombay harbour was conducive for maritime activities and building ports on the western side of the harbour but the nearby pre-existi
Read more

East India Company's Early Ships in India (Part II)

-
Image
  First Anglo Burmese War  Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First-Anglo_Burmese_War.jpg The First Anglo Burmese War that took place from early march 1824 till late February 1826, placed great financial burden on the East India Company but reduced Burma and its rulers to a weak state from the level of a peer of the East India Company's British India. This had happened with other Indian kingdoms before and would happen with many kingdoms in the 19th century. The Charter Act of 1833 tried to create a more centralised form of governance in British India with the newly created position of Governor General of India and transformed the East India Company from a sole commercial entity with administrative powers to a Governing body with overwhelming governmental duties and responsibilities. It lost its monopoly over the two remaining items of tea and trade with China and soon the right to trade altogether. The Board of Control had full power over EIC but the territories were a
Read more