By Sakul Kundra
The historically successful soft landing of India’s Chandrayaan-3 on the uncharted South pole of the lunar surface has become a moment of pride and admiration for Indians and Indian diaspora communities worldwide.
India became the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to land on the Moon.
Globally, congratulations messages flooded to recognise the accomplishment of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This has become a phenomenal milestone for India, as its Lander Module consists of Lander Vikram and the rover Pragyan.
India has proven its advancement in space technology and inspires millions by showcasing its vision towards expansion in space missions. India has achieved this at a cost far less than others, the budget was ‘6.15 billion rupees ($114 million)’, which is far less than other preceding space missions of other nations.
This op-ed attempts to capture glimpses of Indian diaspora communities’ reaction to this Indian’s successful space mission.
A feeling of celebration, dance and music was not just witnessed in India, but it was also noticed among the Indian diaspora communities. A new feather of honour was added to the Indian diaspora living in foreign lands.
The prestige of Indian nationals, overseas citizens of India, and the early Indian diaspora communities reached a new height with the historical landing of India’s Chandaryaan-3.
Appreciation and gratitude were shown by many and expected more to come in the near future. The traits of determination to succeed despite financial and other challenges made this success even more historic. This moment was celebrated by many Indian High Commissioners in foreign lands, e.g. the Indian High Commissioner in Suva, Fiji, held a reception to celebrate the successful landing of Spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the moon. The high commissioner’s words of encouragement and vision inspired many.
Many Girmit foundations began to pour congratulatory messages on social media – “the first country to land on the Lunar South Pole” – and many offered accolades on India’s incredible achievement in history, the landing of Chandrayaan.
News channels that have shown doubts about Indian space technology and science are now beginning to acknowledge the remarkable success of ISRO and India.
It is a proud moment for every Indian and global citizen to work together to strive to explore the unexplored space beyond the earth. This incredibly challenging task of landing in the toughest terrain and low temperature has added a new chapter in the history of Indian space missions.
Many criticised the crash landing of India’s Chandrayaan-2 but have now acknowledged the dedication, perseverance, and resilience of Indian scientists.
Further predictions are made for possible discoveries by the accomplishing in space exploration that shall be a further success for humanity. One never knows what is in the store of discoveries, water, minerals or much more!
The Facebook page of #Chandrayaan3 has noticed 1.1 Million posts, many sharing messages and videos, like “2019 ISRO Scripts A Legendary ‘Comeback’; ‘#IndiaOnTheMoon’, ‘Behind the scenes of Chandrayaan-3’, ‘My baby taking Baby steps on Moon’, ‘Failure of Chandrayaan-2 Addressed… Used in Favour of Chandrayaan-3’.
No wonder, the Indian diaspora communities post images of jubilance and excitement!
Inspirational words of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, “A dream is not that which you see while sleeping, it is something that does not let you sleep,” and “Suffering is the essence of success!” reflect Indian scientists’ courage and determination that made the humanity proud through their space mission.
Few highlighted glimpses of the Indian diaspora community among millions of posts posted and shared on social media reflect the feeling of gladness and pride among Indians living in foreign lands.
Contributing Author: Dr Sakul Kundra is Associate Dean (Research) and Assistant Professor at the College of Humanities and Education at Fiji National University (FNU). The views expressed are his own and not of this newspaper or his employer.
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