Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Scintillating Gujarat


Narendra Modi inaugurating Vibrant Gujarat summit
Convening global investors’ meets had become a fad of state governments in India during the last decade, to leverage the potential of globalization most of them had to adapt however half-heartedly. Virtually all of them embraced the new financial concepts, with practically their backs to the wall. Even now some states, particularly Kerala under the communist party is still reluctant to openly espouse the concept. The meets, being a venue of many foreign delegates are usually convened in five-star hotels with lavish food and liquour. Because of these ‘incentives’, the bureaucracy is only too eager to make them annual affairs without any thought to take follow-up actions or take stock of the promises which are yet to materialize.

It is in this context that the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ summit convened by the Gujarat state government failed to attract public interest in the beginning. We thought it to be just another such drama we come to see annually. But this one has opened up tremendous potential and even if half of the proposals get to see the light of day, Gujarat would have advanced much much further in the industrial map of Asia (yes, surpassing all other Indian states). We will not briefly consider what the summit is and the gains the people of Gujarat has gained from it.

This is the 5th Vibrant Gujarat meet which commenced in 2003 and convened biennially. So far, the total investment proposals total Rs. 16,65,000 crores (US$ 370 bn). The assembly of prominent businessmen were conducted on Jan 12-13 this year at the newly constructed Mahatma Mandir, which is dedicated to the Father of the nation and illustrates his ideals in sculptures strewn around the main building. The convention centre spreads over 60,000 sq. metres in area and boasts of a seating capacity of 5,000. Representatives from nearly 30 MNCs, 16 countries and 19 Indian states participated in the two-day affair. Noted among them were 15 enterpreneurs from Pakistan, proving that business interests transcends rivalry among nations, religions and cultures.

7,936 MOUs were signed during the meet, totalling a commitment of Rs. 20,83,000 crores (US$ 450 bn) which would generate jobs to the tune of 5.2 million. Power, manufacturing, urban development and infrastructure were the prominent sectors which attracted investors. Proposals for 42 power projects in the state were laid down. Dedicating the 5th summit to youth and women, Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the state would soon lead India’s economic development and also compete with developed nations. Huge ambition, from a shrewd politician! The secular press still vilify Modi for his alleged role in the communal riots which rocked Gujarat in 2002 in the aftermath of Godhra train carnage, even though as recently as last year, an inquiry commission set up under a Supreme court order had acquitted him of all charges. It is high time we should rise above sectarian interests and see the material progress pouring into Gujarat under the leadership of Narendra Modi, which should be a model to all chief ministers.

A curious comparison with Kerala’s Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan is not beside the point. The veteran communist stalwart had proved to be a big zero in administration and development, being famous only for outdated communist rhetoric. He himself is not corrupt, but the administrative machinery over which he presides over is neck-deep in it with himself impotent to do anything about it! I wonder whether these people can even correctly count the number of zeroes in the huge number of Rs. 20.83 lakh crores which is pledged for Gujarat!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

A pilgrimage to death

Sabarimala is a renowned Hindu temple in Kerala which attracts millions of pilgrims annually during the two months starting from mid-November to mid-January. Most of them are from the four southern states, and the majority among them from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, where it is said that preparations for the annual journey runs all the year round. People often take pride in counting the number of times they have set foot on the holy hills. Being a rich, but quaint little temple tucked away in the middle of lush green rainforest, the pilgrimage is doubly attractive on the sightseeing and adventurous potential too, with chance encounters with wild animals. At least, that was the way things were until a few decades ago. Now the forest pathways are choked with the huge numbers of pilgrims and the infrastructural facilities are woefully inadequate. Some times, it takes 20 hours to have ‘darshan’ (sighting of the idol for offering prayers) which you have to spend in long queues often in blistering heat.

Sabarimala is marketed in a quite unique way by the Kerala Government which owns the temple. On the Makara Sankranti day (mid-January, this time on Jan 14th), hundreds of thousands of devotees flock to the hills to witness the ‘supernatural’ phenomenon occurring regularly on the dark, steep hills opposite to the shrine. Every year, when evening poojas are consecrated in the temple on Sankranti day, a beam of mysterious light will appear thrice, each time for a very brief interval. The frenzy of the pilgrims upon seeing this out-of-the-world experience is ming boggling. The hills would vibrate with chants of the sea of humanity uttered in unison for praising the deity.

This time, things were a little more serious. In the stampede which followed the appearance of the divine ‘jyoti’ (light) at Pullumedu, 103 people were brutally killed, most of them with grievous damage to internal organs in the melee. Hundreds were injured and at the time of writing this, search is still on for the tens of people missing. Stampedes are nothing strange at Sabarimala as 53 people were killed in another jyoti stampede in 1999 at Pampa base camp. As happened then, this time also, almost all of the deceased were from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. So, what prompts these people to walk to their deaths in an isolated place far away from their homes? The appeal of the supernatural is a potent one, capable of upsetting the mental balance of the gullible. Isn’t it worthwhile to lay down one’s life on the altar of the ‘all-powerful’ god, while witnessing one of his wonders in this miracle-hungry world?

To answer the question, we have to look a bit more closely at this special event called Makara Jyoti.  Even though the Travancore Devaswom Board, a semi-autonomous body which administers the temple maintains it to be manifestation of the supreme power of the deity, Lord Ayyappa, clandestine investigations made under the aegis of Kerala Yuktivadi Sanghom (Rationalists’ Association) paint a different picture. Atheists in Kerala took a determined effort in the 70s and 80s to bring out the truth behind the Jyoti and came out with a chilling announcement that it was nothing but a trick performed by officials of the devaswom board in collusion with several other government departments under heavy police protection. The officials would light a plate stacked with camphor with a shield of carpets to protect against the heavy winds. When this curtain is suddenly removed upon hearing through radio that the pooja is over at the shrine, a monstrous cheating plot is set in motion as the annual act of god! Blood-curdling torture from police awaited the atheists who tried to barge in to the area. The excessive repressive measures undertaken by the state dampened the enthusiasm of the rationalists in later years, but it had its effect. Now, every sane person in Kerala admits, at least privately, that the Jyoti is a trick!

So, what do the devaswom board and the government of Kerala has in their store to console the hapless wives, sons and daughters of the 100-odd people killed in stampede this year? Their divine (hence inhuman?) marketing ploy has claimed the lives of so many innocent people and are to be held responsible, at least to pay compensation. Most of the pilgrims are very poor people, unlike the devotees of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirupati, and it is highly probable that those families had lost their sold bread winners. The government and devaswom board officials should hang their heads in shame for this carnage. Every year, these parties collect nearly 100 crores (1 billion) rupees from the pilgrims and reparation is only a just demand. Also, the public should be aware of the ploys in the guise of religion to cheat the unsuspecting masses. Otherwise, how can you explain away the irony of a god powerful enough to light a bonfire on the top of steep, inaccessible hill is incompetent to save the lives of his own pilgrims?

There is an appeal to the devotees too. If you are religious and feel that a trip to Sabarimala can bring you solace, do it, by all means! But, you should apply your intellect, your commonsense (if you have any) and judge a supernatural occurrence against the balance of probability of it being a fake, before flocking to the place like a herd of cattle. You are to gain from this self-examination, as it is your own life which is at stake!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

India in the Solar System!

India is now one of the handful of nations with the capability to launch a geo-stationary satellite from its own soil. Even though we appear not to have perfected the art, as seen from the sad demonstrations of the last two GSLV launches, nobody questions the nation’s prowess in space exploration. Ours is a developing nation, with scant resources for allocation in scientific or space research. After freely giving away money for corruptions, scams, klickbacks and such, what is remaining for space? Those criticising or ridiculing us should note this point. Whatever meagre allocation there is for space, ISRO utilizes for projects which ensure a handsome payback, naturally! They employ communication satellites (transponders for lease), remote sensing satellites (data for profit), satellite launching services (lowest fee per kg in the world) and it was only two years back they launched Chandrayaan 1, a true science project with no apparent commercial interests to fly by the moon, eject a probe on to the surface and collect data. This was a huge success and the world is indebted to it for the valuable confirmation it provided to the idea that moon contains water.

Apart from Chandrayaan 1, which may be accounted for the country’s rising prosperity, there are practically very few space science and exploration projects in the country. We have no good telescopes to watch the sky, only vague plans for an exploration probe to Mars or Moon and it is no wonder we are far far behind NASA and ESA. These agencies continuously watch the skies, stars, sun, moon and other planets. They locate structures on them like impact craters, mountains, plains, coronae and name them. The International Astronomical Union is entrusted with the task of naming them, and since most of them are identified with American or European funding, it is no wonder the names are those of Greek classical, mythological or people in those countries. Out of compassion or magnanimity, sometimes a few names are thrown to us like crumbs and are given Indian names. Recently, I made search to find Indian names for such structures in various planets or moons in the solar system and the following table lists the results I have obtained. With a very fine sieve, I went through the lists and ended up with 94 objects out of tens of thousands of items in the collection! Rather than being proud of these 94, every Indian should be aware of hundreds of deserving entries which are still awaiting attention of the international community.

Name
Type
Location
Named after
244 Sita
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Sita, character in Ramayana
770 Bali
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Bali, King of Kishkindha in Ramayana
1166 Sakuntala
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Shakuntala, character in ancient Sanskrit drama
1170 Siva
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Hindu deity Shiva or Siva
1958 Chandra
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-1995), Astrophysicist
2211 Hanuman
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Hanuman, monkey-god in mythology
2307 Garuda
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Garuda, son of Kasyapa and Vinata in mythology
2313 Aruna
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Represents the red glow of dawn in mythology of India
2347 Vinata
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Mythological daughter of Prajapati and wife of Kasyapa
2415 Ganesa
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Hindu deity
2491 Tvashtri
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Maker of divine implements in vedas
2596 Vainubappu
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Manali Kallat Vainu Bappu (1927-1982), Astrophysicist
2629 Rudra
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Rudra, destroyer aspect of the Siva
2847 Parvati
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Parvati, goddess, consort of Siva
2986 Mrinalini
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Mrinalini Sarabhai (1918-), Classical dancer and choreographer
2987 Sarabhai
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (1919-1971), Space scientist
3811 Karma
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Karma, Hindu philosophy
4130 Ramanujan
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), Mathematician
5178 Pattazhy
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Sainudeen Pattazhy, Environmentalist
7855 Tagore
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Writer
8348 Bhattacharya
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Jagadish Chandra Bhattacharyya (1930-), Astronomer, director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore
8356 Wadhwa
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Meenakshi Wadhwa, meteorite analyst
9141 Kapur
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Shekhar Kapur (1945-), Actor
12072 Anupamakotha
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Anupama Kotha, Indian-born American finalist, 2002 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and 2002-2003 Intel Science Talent Search (ISTS)
12472 Samadhi
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Samadhi Hindu/Buddhist concept
12599 Singhal
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Akshat Singhal, Indian finalist, 2002 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
13117 Pondicherry
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Indian territory of Pondicherry
20000 Varuna

Kuiper Belt Object
Hindu deity of waters of the heaven and of the ocean and as the guardian of immortality
21575 Padmanabhan
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Hamsa Padmanabhan, Indian finalist in the 2006 Intel ISEF
23133 Rishinbehl
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Rishin Behl, Indian finalist in the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)
24944 Harish-Chandra
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Harish-Chandra (1923-1983), Mathematician
26214 Kalinga
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
UNESCO's Kalinga Prize (bearing the old name of the Indian state of Orissa)
51826 Kalpanachawla
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Kalpana Chawla (1961-2003), Astronaut, mission specialist on board the space shuttle Columbia (STS-107)
55753 Raman
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1888-1970), Physicist
78118 Bharat
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Bhārat Ganarājya, native name of the Republic of India (derived from the wise and pious king Bharata of ancient Hindu mythology), the discoverer's motherland
Anala
Mountain
Venus
Anala (Hindu), Hindu fertility goddess. Name changed from Anala Corona.
Andal
Crater
Mercury
Aandaal (8th cen), Tamil writer
Annapurna
Corona
Venus
Indian goddess of wealth
Aryabhata
Crater
Moon
Aryabhata (476-circa 550)
Asvaghosa
Crater
Mercury
Asvaghosa (80-150), Sanskrit poet
Avviyar
Crater
Venus
Avviyar (2nd cen), Tamil poet
Bhor
Crater
Mars
Bhor, a municipal town in Pune district of Maharshtra, erstwhile principality
Bhumidevi
Corona
Venus
Hindu earth goddess
Bhumiya
Corona
Venus
Hindu earth goddess
Bose
Crater
Moon
Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858–1937), Physicist and Biologist
Broach
Crater
Mars
Broach, city in Gujarat
Budh
Plains
Mercury
Hindu word for Mercury
Chawla
Crater
Moon
Kalpana Chawla (1961–2003), Astronaut
Das
Crater
Moon
Amil Kumar Das (1902–1961), Astronomer
Dheepa
Crater
Venus
Indian female name
Dhisana
Corona
Venus
Vedic goddess of plenty
Dilip
Mountain
Moon
Indian male name
Ganesa
Macula
Titan
Hindu deity
Ganges
Catena
Mars
Ganga, Indian sacred river
Gauri
Mountain
Venus
Gauri (Hindu), Indian mountain goddess
Indira
Crater
Venus
Indian first name
Indrani
Corona
Venus
Hindu fertility goddess
Jhirad
Crater
Venus
Jerusha Jhirad (1890-1984) Physician
Joshee
Crater
Venus
Anandibai Joshee (1865-1887); Pioneer physician
Kakori
Crater
Mars
Kakori, a town in Lucknow dist of U.P.
Kali
Mountain
Venus
Kali (Hindu), Hindu goddess, mother of death.
Kalidasa
Crater
Mercury
Kālidāsa (5th cen), Sanskrit writer
Kamadhenu
Corona
Venus
Hindu goddess of plenty
Logtak
Lake
Titan
Loktak lake in Manipur
Lonar
Crater
Mars
Lonar, saltwater lake in Buldana dist of Maharashtra
Maya
Corona
Venus
Hindu mother earth goddess
Medhavi
Crater
Venus
Ramabai Medhavi (1858–1922); Author, humanitarian
Mitra
Crater
Moon
Sisir Kumar Mitra (1890-1963), Physicist
Nishtigri
Corona
Venus
Hindu earth mother
Poona
Crater
Mars
Pune, city in Maharashtra
Prthvi
Corona
Venus
Hindu mother earth goddess.
Purandhi
Corona
Venus
Hindu goddess of plenty
Radhika
Crater
Venus
Indian first name
Raman
Crater
Moon
Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1888-1970), Physicist
Rampyari
Crater
Venus
Indian first name
Rani
Crater
Venus
Indian first name
Ravi
Crater
Moon
Indian male name
Rayadurg
Crater
Mars
Rayadurg, a town in Anantapur dist of Andhra Pradesh
Saha
Crater
Moon
Meghnad Saha (1893-1956), Astrophysicist
Sandila
Crater
Mars
Sandila, a town in Hardoi dist of U.P.
Sarabhai
Crater
Moon
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (1919-1971), Space scientist
Sarasvati
Mountain
Venus
Saraswati, Hindu river goddess
Sher-Gil
Crater
Mercury
Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-1941), Indian painter
Sita
Crater
Moon
Indian female name
Sunrta
Corona
Venus
Hindu fertility goddess
Sur Das
Crater
Mercury
Surdas (1478-1581), Poet
Tadaka
Corona
Venus
Indian mythical character
Tansen
Crater
Mercury
Tansen (1506-1589), Hindustani music composer
Thakur
Crater
Mercury
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Writer
Tyagaraja
Crater
Mercury
Tyāgarāja (1767-1847), Carnatic music Composer
Ushas
Mountain
Venus
Indian goddess of dawn.
Valmiki
Crater
Mercury
Valmiki, Indian poet
Vasudhara
Corona
Venus
Buddhist female Bodhisattva of abundance
Vyasa
Crater
Mercury
Vyasa, Indian poet

Of course, this list will burgeon rapidly in the coming years. But still, there are some names which should be there even in present conditions. Politicians, please excuse. So, what’s the procedure to name an asteroid to honour a person we admire? The easiest way is to discover one. The discoverer has the right to name it, but if it remains unnamed for 10 years, there’s a chance for the public. All proposed names will be scrutinized by a 15-person working group for Small Body Nomenclature (http://www.ss.astro.umd.edu/IAU/csbn/) of the IAU. Proposed names should be

  • 16 characters or less in length
  • preferably one word
  • pronounceable
  • non-offensive
  • not too similar to an existing name

A complete list of all available names can be downloaded here. So, why wait? Start pressurising them!