Moon Mission: Veteran Naga leader Jamir credits Nehru, India’s scientific quest

New Delhi, Aug 24 :  Former Nagaland Chief Minister and ex-Governor of Gujarat and Maharashtra, S C Jamir, on Thursday gave credit to "Indias spirit of scientific quest" and countrys first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the grand success of mission Chandrayaan-3.

"As my year of birth, 1931, indicates - for all practical purposes I belong to the last century.

But I have always loved to keep myself updated.Precisely this is called the Scientific temperament and this scientific temper is something Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru used to lay emphasis upon," Jamir told IANS.

Appointed by Nehru, Jamir served as his Parliamentary Secretary between May 5, 1962 to January 15, 1966.

"This journey is a tribute to Indias spirit of scientific quest and the ability for technological innovation," said the 92-year-old leader who has seen all Indian Prime Ministers starting from Nehru from a close range.

"Standing at this ripe age, it gives me immense pleasure to note that finally we have achieved a major milestone in Space Science.Therefore, the grand Indian journey and its culmination with the soft-landing on Moon on August 23, 2023 is a Red Letter Day both in our personal and national life," he said.

"Nehru believed in the power of man because he believed in the power of science.My understanding of him was that Nehru saw life as an opportunity to test a persons will.

The achievements of 2023 also owes it to Nehru and his pioneering efforts in shaping up the Indian science journey," said Jamir, who also served as Deputy Railway Minister under Indira Gandhi.

On the success of the Moon mission, Jamir said, "I also feel one ought to refer to the wisdom of ancient Indian science.

Young students of our generation in educational hubs like Allahabad were aware that the science and technology in ancient India covered many major branches of human knowledge including mathematics, astronomy, physics, metallurgy and navigation".

"It is believed Aryabhatta (476-550) developed his mathematical model in which the earth was taken to be spinning on its axis.

He was also the first to discover that the light from the moon and the planets were reflected from the sun," Jamir said.

In reference to contemporary settings, Jamir said, the world has changed in many ways.

"Human race is now on a race to establish more prominence on the moon.Experts estimate that the global space launch market is expected to grow more than $20 billion.

This is the opening up of a new vista.I am more than happy that India is now sincerely being courted in this race especially for the smaller countries or Global South".

Admirers of Nehru say that way back in 1954, Jawaharlal Nehru had recommended the name of physicist C V Raman for the countrys highest civilian award Bharat Ratna.

Nehru also had high regard for scientists like Satyendra Nath Bose and Meghnad Saha.

In fact, the Congress party on Wednesday said Indias space journey began in 1962 with the formation of the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) which is also seen as the work of the farsightedness of Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.

(Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist.

He is also author of the books ‘The Talking Guns: North East India’, and ‘Modi to Moditva: An Uncensored Truth’.Views expressed are personal)

nirendra/prw