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Highway to Mars

India’s low cost space programme has got a major boost after the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) entered the gravitational sphere of the Red Planet. The country’s status has naturally been augmented and it now rubs shoulders with elite giants like the former Soviet Union (now Russia), United States, European Space Agency and China too.

It is indeed a moment when Indians should think and introspect about the magnitude of capability this nation has in spite of all its perennial problems. It is a passing hope that this achievement shall not create an environment of antagonism but would propel further cooperation amongst nations.

Powerful nations must realise that there is no pragmatism in blowing your horn all alone and that in order to make the world more inclusive, collaborative tooting needs to be the way forward. Take India’s space programme for that matter. When it began in 1969, India decided to join hands with the USSR, the globally recognised pioneer back then. Detractors still may argue that Indians did not have the thought to then think through the ramifications this move could have considering the Cold War phenomenon, but the fact also remains that had it not taken the plunge back then, it could have never even had a space programme, leave alone an MOM.

Taking clues from the Indian success, there may be many nations, which can now harbour hopes of sending their space missions utilising the affordable technology that India can provide. India which even today accesses spatial technology from a host of countries most notably Russia, China and the United States, can perhaps now pursue its case of greater responsibility sharing in the global political arena too. Countries should realise that going solo is not the way forward in any realm of governance, because if we desire peace, stability and tranquillity we’ll have to build things on collective accord in a world which deals heavily with partisan politics.   
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