VISIONARY SCICENTIST VIKRAM SARABHAI AND ISRO HAS REVOLUTIONALIZED LIFE IN INDIA
When you ponder the penetration of satellite TV to virtually every home or the early warning sounded by the meteorological authorities of an impending cyclone about to hit the coast, think of ISRO.
When expanded, it reads Indian Space Research Organisation which has revolutionized life in India influencing it every day though most people barely have much idea about it.
ISRO scientists, who are mostly associated with orbiting satellites and launching of giant rockets, have even developed a device in their spare time which is being described as a step towards designing of an ‘artificial human heart’.
The achievements of ISRO have been showcased at a four-day program organised at the SOA Deemed to be University here from Sunday as part of the Birth Centenary Celebration of late Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai who is considered to be the Father of the Indian Space Program.
The four-day program, jointly organised by SOA and Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, ISRO, Sriharikota, is part of the celebrations being held in 100 cities in the country to pay tribute to the visionary scientist while popularizing space science among school and college students.
Prof. Debaprosad Duari, a distinguished scientist in the domain of astronomy and astrophysics and presently Director of the M.P.Birla Planetarium, Kolkata, attended the program as chief guest which was also addressed by Mr. A.Rajarajan, Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, ISRO, Mr. V.Kumbakarnan, Chairman of the Vikram Sarabhai Centenary Celebration Program (VSCP) and Mr. Ajit Kumar Nath, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Bhubaneswar. Prof. Amit Banerjee, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, presided over the function.
School and college students, who attended the inaugural program, were told about the brilliant scientist who successfully convinced the government about the importance of launching a space program in the early 1960s following the Sputnik launch by then USSR.
After laying the foundation of the space program, Prof. Sarabhai identified Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram on the Arabian Sea coast as the site for a rocket launching centre because of its proximity to the equator.
Prof. Duari described Prof. Sarabhai as a visionary scientist and community leader who was focused on building a new India and had provided the impetus which has helped space science to develop at a tremendous speed.
“I hear from NASA scientists that what India has achieved scientifically in 70 years cannot be matched by any other country,” Prof. Duari said adding India had taken a quantum jump in space exploration within the last one decade.
“If this has to continue, some of you have to shoulder the responsibility,” he told the students.
Stating that their academic performance valued through examinations were not the measurement of their real worth, he told the audience “you have to realize your potential before you can achieve something.”
Prof. Duari focused on the need to develop scientific temper in the country saying many people were not happy about Rs. 460 crore being spent on the ‘Mangalyaan’ project and questioned its necessity for India on the ground that 27 per cent of the population had no food. But they don’t feel any remorse that much more was being spent every year on the Indian Premier League, he commented.
Mr. Rajarajan said ISRO had taken rapid strides in development of space program while its brilliant scientists were instrumental in saving lives before cyclones hit the coast as the satellites provided all information.
Prof. Banerjee described Prof. Sarabhai as a scientist whose vision had helped the country to reach great heights in space development. He was an institution builder and was instrumental in the establishment several great institutions including Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Darpan Academy of Performing Arts, all at Ahmedabad and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram. The four-day program includes elocution and debates, essay writing, drawing and painting, instant and written quiz and innovative design competition. The topic for elocution and debates for engineering and diploma students will be ‘Space Explorations can Make India Developed’ while the topic for students of Class eight to ten will be ‘Space Connects the World’. A mobile science exhibition is also part of the program.