Why India should put a man in orbit

 On October 14, China sent its first astronaut into orbit. That event has the potential to change history. The world has two classes of countries viz: those who have mastery of space and can control events on earth, and those that cannot compete in the final frontier, whether for military or civilian purposes and who therefore will be dependent, to varying degrees, on countries in the first class.

 It is noteworthy that all of Europe, outside of Russia, belongs to the second class. Their only shield is their transatlantic alliance with the US, but European nations are discovering that even in earth-bound military technologies, the growing gap with the US is working to their disadvantage. In Asia, most countries (including Indonesia, Malaysia etc and perhaps even Japan) will at some stage seek a Chinese umbrella.

 I was in Europe on that eventful day. All the television channels and newspapers were full of pictures of the Chinese astronaut. On the same day the only news about India was that some Shiv Sainiks had left Mumbai for Ayodhya!

 It made me squirm as an Indian that while the Chinese were winning the battle for space in the 21st century, my country was fighting a religious battle of the 16th century! Surely our political leaders should recognise the challenge posed by the Chinese and focus on that.

 To some degree, the future belongs to those who can navigate and control space. Surely, India has both the need and capability to join this club.

 The most important reason for getting into a space