UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and PM Manmohan Singh after winning the elections

Defying all expectations and poll predictions, Congress and its allies performed much better than expectations getting a thumping mandate for the next five years, from nearly 57% [wiki] of electorates who voted. Manmohan Singh will be the next prime minister of the country in the 15th Lok Sabha. He is only the second PM after Pt. Jawahar Nehru to be elected to a second term in PMO after being in centre for full five years.

UPA (United Progressive Alliance) won about 260 seats (up by a whopping 79 seats when compared to 2004), just marginally short of the magic figure of 272. Congress itself secured 206 (+60) seats, a feat that it was not able to repeat since 1991. NDA failed miserably, managing only 157 seats, down by 14 seats as compared to 2004. BJP won mere 116 seats (-22).

Mamta Banerjee’s Trinmool Congress (TC) won 19 seats (2 in 2004), Jayalalitha’s AIADMK won 9 seats (0 last time), Left parties won only 20 seats (53 last time), Laloo’s RJD could manage only 4 seats against the 24 which they won in 2004. Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP was unable to open its account (they had 4 Mp’s in Lok Sabha last year).

Big guns who were able to secure their seats include:

Priya Dutt (Mumbai North-Central, Congress), Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram, Congress), Varun Gandhi (Pilibhit, BJP), LK Advani (Gandhinagar, BJP), Rajnath Singh (Ghaziabad, BJP), Congress’s chairperson Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareily, Congress), Rahul Gandhi (Amethi, Congress), Laloo Prasad Yadav (Saran, RJD, he lost from Patliputra though), ex PM H.D. Deve Gowda (Hassan, Janta Dal- secular), Sachin Pilot (Ajmer, Congress), P Chidambaram (Sivaganga, Congress, he lost initially and asked for a recount in which he won), Maneka Gandhi (Aaonla, BJP, she also lost in the first counting but was declared the winner after a recount), Navjot Singh Sidhu (Amritsar, BJP), Shatrughan Sinha (Patna Sahib, BJP), Chiranjeevi (Tirupati, PRP, he lost from Palacole though), Mulayam Singh Yadav (Mainpuri, SP), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna, Congress), Sushma Swaraj (Vidisha, BJP), Jaswant Singh (Darjeeling, BJP), Jayaprada (Rampur, SP), Murli Manohar Joshi (Varanasi, BJP), Mohd Azharuddin (Muradabad, Congress)

The list of notable heavy weights who lost is as follows:

Laloo Prasad yadav (Patliputra,RJD, he won from Saran though), Ram Vilas Paswan (Hajipur, LJP), Shekhar Suman (Patna Sahib, Congress), Chiranjeevi (Palacole, PRP, he won from Tirupati though), Renuka Chaudhary (Khammam, Congress), Ram Naik (Mumbai North, BJP), Vinod Khanna (Gurdaspur, BJP), Chetan Chauhan (East Delhi, BJP), Mani Shankar Aiyar (Mayiladuthuraj,) Nafisa Ali (Lucknow, SP), Margaret Alva (Uttara kannada, Congress).

From the state point of view, the biggest surprise for me was UP. Congress won 21 seats in the state, an increase of over 50 % as compared to last time’s 9! Even Congress leaders dint anticipate this resounding success in the important state of UP. BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) won only 20 seats, an improvement of just one seat from 2004. This broke the dream of the “sarvajan samaj” leader Mayawati’s hope of becoming the king maker and hopefully the next PM of the country. Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party suffered huge loss of 12 seats as they could only win on 23 constituencies.

Apart from UP, West Bengal sent major tremors down the political lanes. While Left parties suffered significant setback, winning only 11 (CPI+CPM) seats as compared to 29 (CPI+CPM) last time in a state which is considered their strong hold, Mamta’s Trinmool Congress emerged strong winning 19 seats, up by 18 in 2004.

In Tamil Nadu, AIADMK won 9 seats (+9) while DMK consolidated by 2 seats to take their tally to 18.

In Maharashtra, Congress added 4 seats as compared to 2004 to finish at 17, while BJP lost 4 seats and their final tally in the state was just 9!
Bihar was one state which brought wide smiles on face of NDA. BJP won 12 (+7) while JD-U won 20 (+14). Though other major parties in state, RJD (4,-18) and LJP (0,-4) were completely wiped out.

BJP also took blows in MP (16,-9), Rajasthan (4,-17). Congress improved by significant numbers in Kerala (13,+13), MP (12,+8), Rajasthan (20,+16)

Few things are very clear from the way India has voted:

• People of India have voted for stability. They want a government which can run and take strong decisions for five years (hence the mandate in favor of Congress and allies and against blakmailer parties like Left, BSP,SP etc. People have denied totally regional parties like RJD and are now turning towards national parties for better governance. Congress can work without the constant fear of its allies withdrawing support and we can expect a stronger coalition government and they can formulate their key policies with freedom and without much hassles.
• Advani, Modi are not the faces people of India want to see as their PM. People of India do not want their leaders or parties to be working on secular lines. Hate speeches by <sarcasm> honorable </sarcasm> Mr. Varun Gandhi dont seem to work outside Pilibhit either. People want real issues and not just issues which are made up just for the sake of it. BJP had much greater support when honorable Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji was in picture. It is not hard to believe that BJP needs a leader with a clean image like him to be able to challenge Congress in next elections in 2014. As Advani has already offered to quit, is Modi the natural choice for the next (dare I say) PM in waiting? If yes, god help BJP, because unless Congress does something terribly terribly wrong this time, I am afraid people are not ready to see and accept Mr Narendra Modi as the PM of the country.
• Rahul Gandhi is a force to reckon with. This election the battle was between youthful exuberance of 38 year old Rahul gandhi and the experience of 81 year old Lal Krishna Advani, and we know who prevailed. The fact that Congress won on more than 60 seats out of 126 (source: Aaj Tak) where Rahul Gandhi travelled shows the effect this young power house of Congress has on the common man of India. BJP needs a younger and dynamic face in their party to woo the younger voters. And no, Varun Gandhi is not a wise choice. They need someone who is more likable. Rahul Gandhi can also be the Congress’s PM candidate for the next elections.
• Start power does not guarantee you sucess, well almost. Defeats of many prominent personalities like Chetan Chauhan, Hans Raj Hans, Raj Babbar, Vinod Khanna, Jaspal Rana, Chiranjeevi, Shekhar Suman is a proof of that.

I am thankful for a few things.

• We can expect a stable and stronger government,
• People like Mayawati can only dream of becoming the PM of this great country.
• BJP must have learnt that India does not want to be divided on basis of religion. We (okay, most of us) do not ratify politics of hate. If you want to win, you need to bring better faces than Advani and Modi, someone like Sh AB Vajpayee.
• Small parties like RJD, BSP, SP, Left who thrive on the lack of a consensus amongst the Indian voters and hence get what they wanted just because they have the seats that the coalition government needs, need to re-think their agendas. People of India have clearly shown them the door and made it clear their is no room for parties who create instability in the government.
• I am happy that opportunistic politicians like Ram Vilas Paswan lost. Man, that guy is present in every party just because he has those few seats which the alliances need to form the government. Not surprisingly, he gets a portfolio too. And I am sure, he does not allign with the alliance likely to form government with just the motive of “actively” participating in the government and hence be able to serve the people of the country better.

Congress will be able to form the government with the support of just a few more small parties and independents, leaving no room for SP, BSP and the likes.

Thanks to the Election Commission Of India for conducting free and fair elections. Managing elections for over a month and that too in a country of over 700 million electorates is a tough job.

I hope to see a better working government this time. Winning the elections is just the beginning, the real work starts now, fulfilling the expectations and faith people have shown in you.

Good luck to Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Download the complete list of winning candidates of 2009 General Elections from
here. (PDF, 53 kb,from ECI website)

Disclaimer: Though I have taken utmost care in giving the correct stats, some errors still might have crept in. If you come across any, please notify me.

Data collected from various sources including IBNLive, image from BBC

I feel like killing myself for not writing this piece before 16 April (i.e. before the day elections started). I remember that I decided that I would run a campaign of sorts on all my blogs so as to create whatever awareness I could at my small level and encourage my fellow citizens to go out and cast their vote in the 2009 general elections. But I don’t know how I became so lazy that I could not find time to write this all important topic. And here I am, writing this post when two out of five phases of the elections have already passed and fates of candidates for more than half of the 543 Lok Sabha seats have already been sealed in the ballot boxes. But better late than never. (*promises to self to be more responsible in future*)

So India, the largest democracy in the world is currently voting to choose the representatives to 15th Lok Sabha to lead us, “hopefully”, for the next five years. This is the biggest  democratic event mankind has ever witnessed as more than 700 million (714,103070 to be exact) people lined up to cast their vote. Never before in history, man witnessed participation at this large scale.

What do these elections means for India?

India has been shining, and shining bright for the last decade or two. Our economy has been on steroids, clocking 6-8 pc GDP growth consistently for a few years now, our scientific achievements (Chandrayaan) have been a fairy tale, our military might (now don’t compare with US or China et al, peace) and what not. But I am sure most of us would agree with me here that if only we had good leaders who can think of nation above self, power, money and everything else, we would have been miles ahead of where we are now. Because we know that there is not any lack of brilliant and hard working brains here.

Indian politics is dirty. Period. But makes the politics dirty? Politicians. And who elects the politicians? We, the people. This is where I feel these elections can be different from all the previous ones. Of the 700 million people who will exercise their right to vote this year, a staggering 65% of them are below the age of 35. This the highest India has got so far in terms of young electors. Youth thinks differently, there is no one doubting that. They they don’t think orthodox, “most” can think above the lines of region, religion, caste, color and other such crap, or so I believe (I hope I am not wrong). Not that I am saying our parents grand parents are all fools and incapable of making wise decisions but when talking of majority and witnessing the politics we have in our country today, I am somewhat inclined to think that the youth can do a better job than those who previously elected leaders giving preference to religion, caste, region etc of the candidate.

That means more than 450 million young and ignited minds deciding the fate of the country for the next five years, now that’s unprecedented and revolutionary. All the major political parties realize the power of young voters in these elections. And that is why every one is trying to woo the young voter in as many ways as they can. Like BJP’s huge campaign online which has for sure ruined my (and probably your too) online experience since months. BJP’s ads can be seen many websites, I don’t know how much money they spent on online advertising. BJP and Congress has been actively engaging young voters on hugely popular sites like Facebook and  Twitter. Special campaigns have been designed for targeting the youth. Every one knows that youth holds the key in these elections. Do you?

Why should you vote?

This question is a no brainer actually. You are a citizen of this country and that is enough reason for you to vote. It is your country, if you do not care for it, no one else will. Your non-vote can even lead to election of a non-competent leader or someone whom you don’t want. Why let that happen? If you crave for the rights the democracy of this country has given you, you are expected to fulfill your duties towards it as well, that is cast your vote. If you think that one vote doesn’t make any difference, then remember the old saying, the droplets fill an ocean. If everyone were thinking like you, there would be no elections at all. If you start at your level, others will follow. At least you can be proud that you do something at your end and not like many many other who can only sit and whine about the endless this country faces while making no contribution or efforts in trying to get rid of the problems.

If you are young and you are think of what can be achieved if these (or most) 450 million vote. You are one of these 450 million. Would not you want to participate and cast your vote and make a statement?

Also I would like to quote here two great personalities:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy

Whom should you vote?

Now this is a tricky question. No matter what age group you belong to or what are your values you just can’t think of genuine politicians who are worthy of your vote. Though in the end decision is your to make but the problem lies in the fact that it is not easy to make even that decision because there are just no politicians whom you can vote on their merits. Indian elections have always been about choosing between the lesser of the two evils. Both the national parties, “Indian national Congress (INC)” and “Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)”, have their “cons”. Its really tough to choose between the two, not because the both have done exceptional work but because you have to actually look through the profiles to see which part has the candidates which have lesser criminal records against their names, which has criminals politicians who are not involved in any scam or forgery or any other mis-conduct. You don’t have the luxury of choosing that who amongst them has more nation loving,honest, strong leaders. This is the common dilemma shared by most of the voters, specially first timers in India.

Now that is what dis-heartens me. Can’t we find 543 worthy leaders for ourselves in a nation of 1 billion people? It actually discourages you to rather not vote as no good is going to come of it anyway. But this attitude is wrong. Still you have to choose, even if it means choosing between the two evils, because if you don’t, who knows, the greater of the evils is voted to power, and we don’t want that. Also, after elections if the greater evil is in power and it commits a blunder, you can’t blame anybody because did you do anything to keep them from power? No. So do vote, wisely.

But still if your self does not allow you to vote for any of the evils, because no matter even if you choose someone who is the lesser evil in your opinion, they will still bring you shame. They will still do acts which will make you think, “How could have I elected these people to power?” I was in a similar dilemma last year during Delhi legislative elections last year, when I could not think of who should get my vote? I could not decide on any party. Both had numerous negatives. Then finally, I voted for “no-one” using a special provision provided to us voters, under 49-O. It basically enables you to cast a “null vote” i.e. your vote is valid, but not in favor of any party or candidate. Mind that it is not a “negative vote”, meaning your vote will not affect the outcome of the elections if even 1 normal vote is cast. Though I am not sure what will happen if every elector decides to vote using 49-O. Here is what is written on NIC website about 49-O.

49-O. Elector deciding not to vote.-If an elector, after his

electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters

in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as

required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his

vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in

Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb

impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.

Read the full “THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS RULES, 1961? here on the NIC website.

This method is not very easy to use as there will be many obstacles in your way. Even the elections officer on duty are not aware of this provision. When I went to vote, they almost turned me down saying there is nothing like this. But I came to know later that there were others who also tried to cast their vote in this manner but were actually scolded and turned down by the authorities present on election duties at the polling station. So if you decide to vote using 49-O, go prepared with all the proofs.

Take print out of the text above (in quotes) and also the print out  of (scroll to point #11 on page 8 ) this PDF from Election Commission Of India’s (ECI) ECI_voters_guideline_2006. These two should be enough. This thing sure exists, I have myself used it. Authorities on paper there might not know it, its your job to convince them. (Don;t attempt any heroic or sensational act at the polling station, just be polite, I am sure the officers will reciprocate).

(Read more about my experience of voting using 49-O)

Please note that unlike the spam mail that is under circulation for years now, there is no clause suggesting cancellation or re-polling under any circumstances due to 49-O. Your vote will have NO effect on the outcome of the elections. Though I agree that whether you are actually contributing by voting using 49-O or not is debatable, but I tend to believe that it is a contribution in someway atleast. If you think same, you can also vote using 49-O if you can’t decide on any party or candidate.

There you go, the bottom line is you HAVE TO vote if you are a responsible citizen of this country. Even if you think no one is worthy, you have to elect because otherwise the greater of the two evils can come to power. Still if you think voting is useless, vote using 49-O, I have given you another option. If you still don’t vote, DIE!

Schedule of the General Elections 2009

If you dont know, Delhi has this month already hosted Mozilla Camp on 10th Feb for which I was not fortunate enough to be able to attend it though I wanted so badly as I am a Firefox fan.

Then Delhi was host to Twestival too on 12 Feb 2009, which was a global event organised simultaneously in 175 countries to support charity:water.

And now, a real treat for wordpress users,fans,developers in Delhi and all over India: India’s first ever Wordcamp is being organised in Delhi on 21st and 22 Feb!

The mega event is being organised by Delhi Bloggers Bloc.
Now the best part. The highlights/biggies of the event are:
- Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress, will be joining us! Its once in a lifetime opportunity to meet the brain behind the world’s most popular blogging platform.
- Om Malik, named one of the 100 most influential bloggers by cnet.
- Amit Aggarwal, of labnol, the BIG name of Indian blogosphere and the most successful Indian blogger.

Even if you dont use wordpress or you dont use wordpress, the above mentioned celebreties are themselves reasons enough to attend the event. (Just in case you dont know what wordpress is: WordPress is a state of the art blogging platform and is the preferred by most number of bloggers around the world. The power of wordpress lies in the customisation it offers by the means of plugins to enhance your blog’s virtually every aspect and turn it into a full fledged CMS. If you dont already use wordpress or are thinking of starting blogging, wordpress is all you need,look no further)

The event venue is Adobe, NOIDA: [map] (Adobe is also the sponsor for the event along with AUTOMATTIC)

            I-1A, Sector 25A
            Noida, U.P. 201301
            India
            Tel: +91 120 244 4711

Timings: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

If you are interested,

You can also register on the spot, thought the fees will be slightly higher.

The agenda from the event page:

Day 1
09:00am – 10:00am: Registration/giveaways
10:00am – 10:05am: Welcome Address by Priyanka/Twilight Fairy – founder Delhi Bloggers Bloc
10:05am – 10:15am: Keynote by Om Malik, Gigaom
10:15am – 11:00am: “State of the word” by Matt Mullenweg
11:00am – 11:45am: Using WP to implement a radio site – Shreyas, from RadioVerve
11:45pm – 12:30pm: Implementing SEO in your WP blog : Abhinav Gulyani
12:30pm – 01:15pm: LUNCH
01:15pm – 02:00pm: How to get started after installing WordPress by Abhijeet Mukherjee, Jeetblog
02:00pm – 02:45pm: Optimising ads on your WP blog : Amit Agarwal, Digital Inspiration
02:45pm – 03:45pm: Interactive talk – Intellectual property rights/copyrights : Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme court of India
03:45PM – 04:00pm : Tea/coffee/snacks
04:00pm – 05:00pm : quiz for attendees + press interviews by Matt/Om
05:00pm – 05:45pm : Open house discussion with Matt & Om
05:30pm – 06:00pm: Closing of day 1

Day 2

09:00am – 09:30am: Registration /giveaways
09:30am – 09:35am: Welcome Address by Priyanka/Twilight Fairy – founder Delhi Bloggers Bloc
09:35am – 10:15am: WordPress as CMS for business sites : Ravish Ahuja, justskins.com
10:15am – 10:45am: WordPress, a lifestyle – Praval Singh
10:45am – 11:15am: Personal galleries and social networks with WP & Adobe AIR – Aditya
11:15am – 11:30am: Tea/coffee/snacks
11:30am – 12:00pm: Feature suggestion contest for WordCamp with Matt
12:00pm – 12:45pm: WordPress.TV – by Matt Mullenweg
12:45pm – 01:30pm: Writing WordPress plugins – Karthik Bala
01:30pm – 02:15pm: LUNCH
02:15pm – 03:00pm: Interactive talk – the amended India IT act 2000 – Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme court of India
03:00pm – 03:45pm: Adobe’s new AIR apps – Adobe representative
03:45pm – 04:00pm: Tea/coffee/snacks
04:00pm – 04:45pm: Panel discussion moderated by Rajiv Dingra, WATBLOG – topics, speakers to be announced
04:45pm – 05:30pm: How to secure your WP blog by Mayank Gupta
05:30pm – 06:00pm: Feedback/closing of the event

Please note, the schedule may vary slightly on the actual day

Dammit, i am having my exams till 21st Feb and my exam will be over at 5:00 pm. SO i wont be able to attend 1st day. I cant believe i will miss Amit’s sessions

Anyway, if you have sometime, make sure not to miss it. (And dont forget to capture day one and share it with me)  :)

BTW, that is not all. Delhi will also be seeing a BarCamp from 28Feb-1March and a blogcamp from 7-8 March. I will write about them later.

Twestival which is a global event being organised in 175 countries on 12 Feb 2009 was concluded succesfully in Delhi.

In case you dint follow my previous blog post on Twestival ,and still dont know what Twestival is:

On 12 February 2009 175+ cities around the world will be hosting Twestivals which bring together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water.

charity: water is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations by funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need.

I reached the venue, Eros Corporate Tower, Nehru Place at 1730 hrs but parking problems made sure i dint enter the Microsoft (sponsore for the Delhi Twestival) office on 5th floor till about almost 1800hrs. ANyway,before going in i thought of clicking a picture of the venue(Eros Tower) which itself was really nice.

Eros Corporate Tower, venue for Twestival,Delhi

So about 20 tweople showed up for the event (i dont remember the exact number). I (@knayam) met @baxiabhishek (the organiser of the event,thank you Abhishek for all the hard work) ,@simplyarun (from slideshare), @kg86, @mba_piyush, @rishumehra, @joe_nayyar, @jasdeep, @anshumanchadda, @guptashashank, @nilanjangupta @samratkakkar and others whom twitter handle i dont know. People who are not on Twitter were present there too so that they can learn a thing or two about it.

We discussed about Twitter, charity: water for which gathered, twitter tools, brands on twitter and many more things. people told interesting stories about them and twitter. Like @kg86 told how he got hooked to Twitter (He was in the hospital and was to attend a concert in his city. He tweeted about the ticket and was replied by another tweep that tickets are going to be sold soon. He (kg86) replied back and the other person booked the ticket for kg86 (Kumar gautam) and they had a tweetup and kg86 got his ticket.SInce then kg86 took twitter seriously ).

One of the ways to support the charity was to buy a tee shirt and I ordered one for myself @ 400 INR which is very less as compared to international price which is $20. Many other tweople also ordered tee shirts to support the charity and some money was also colelcted.

All the funds raised from the Twestivals around the world will go to charity: water. Microsoft provided us the infrastructure and refreshments so whatever was collected goes solely to the charity.

The event started at near 1900hrs (IST,pun intended) and ended at around 2130hrs. Thought few of us kept discussing other things too after the event.

Here are the pics i clicked of the event from my SE P1i. (more pics will be added once Abhishek gives me the pics which i clicked using his digicam)

Eros Corporate Tower, venue for Twestival,Delhi

Twestival,Delhi in progress

Twitter board with twitter handles of the attendees

Teh XBox 360 room at the Microsoft office

Microsoft office

Here is the prize list:

1st prize:

An elegant, fresh and beautiful premium wordpress theme: “Content Press – Premium Magazine/News Style WordPress Theme” woth $75 sponsored by wordpressland.com. The theme is well coded and 100% Valid XHTML/CSS and is ready for easy modification. Theme is also plugin and widget ready. The Content Press premium WordPress theme also includes a fully prepared theme for bbPress, a forum that ties into WordPress. (DEMO)

2nd prize:

An elegant, fresh and beautiful premium wordpress theme: “Magazine News – Premium Magazine/News Style WordPress Theme” woth $49 sponsored by wordpressland.com. The theme is well coded and 100% Valid XHTML/CSS and is ready for easy modification. Theme is also plugin and widget ready. (DEMO)

3rd prize:

$5 cash via Paypal (sponsored by Knayam)

4th prize:

1000 Entrecard credits (sponsored by Knayam)

5th prize:

500 Entrecardcredits (sponsored by Knayam)

All you have to do to enter the contest is:

1. Make a 40-50 word blog post about this contest at Knayam while also giving a link (no “no-follow” tags allowed) to wordpressland.com.(worth 2 points) Also, talk about wordpressthemes market is getting into the premium WordPress themes market in Japan with the site wordpressland.com (worth 2 points)

2. Subscribe to the feeds (of Knayam) by email.(1 point)

3. Leave a message here (1 point)

So you can earn upto 2+2+1+1=6 points.

You can just leave a message here in this post to be eligible for the contest but that will fetch you just one point. Earn more points for better chances of winning.

Winners will be chosen by a draw by me and the video of the same will be put up on the blog.

P.S. The themes will be the english versions,the same as the demo links and not the Japanese versions.

The contests ends 31 Jan 2009 at 23:59 IST.

P.S. All your links should be “no-follow” free.

Good luck!

WOW! I have never felt so much pride in being an Indian while writing a post. The feeling I have is shared by millions of Indians around the globe.

India’s maiden mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-I was launched successfully from Srijarikota today. The PSLV-C11 rocket was fired at exactly 0622 IST (0052 UTC).

Chandrayaan was blasted into space by highly reliable 4 stage PSLV-C11 rocket. The space craft carries 11 scientific instruments, 5 Indian and 6 foreign which will make a detailed 3D map of lunar surface as well as look for presence of water,minerals and a rare isotope Helium-3 which could be the answer to the ever increasing energy needs of our planet. It will make the most detailed maps of moon.

Soon after PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch vehicle) successfully placed Chandrayaan-I into the orbit around the earth, all the scientists who worked non-stop exulted in joy,thumping their chests with pride and congratulated each other. The whole nation was doing the same and salutes its true heroes. ISRO chief  G Madhavan Nair said “This is a historic moment for India. We’ve started our journey to the moon and and the first leg of the journey has gone remarkably well”.

Chandrayaan-I will take another 5 and a half days to reach the moon where it will orbit it for 2 years and send valuable data. It will also send a “Moon impactor” probe to the surface of the moon which will evaluate the surface of the moon. This probe is painted with Indian tri color, so if this probe reaches the surface safely, India will only be the fourth country to place their national flag on the lunar surface. Earlier US, Russia, Japan have achieved this feat. India has also joined US, China, japan, ESA, Russia in the list of countries/agencies capable of sending missions to moon.

Chandrayaan-I’s cost is $83 million, much more cost efficient than any other nation.

But even this appears sore to some eyes. There are a few negative arguements as well:

1. Some people are talking whether the space mission was at all required in a poverty ridden country like India where billions live below poverty line? For non-Indians giving this arguement, weell, you have half (not full because your reason does not purely sound a result of jealousy and you show your concern for the poor. What have you/your nation done to help the poor BTW) my middle finger as an answer. If you are an Indian thinking the same,read on the next para.

Well, first things first, it is because of Indian scientists we have been able to achieve this goal. Had it been in control of our politicians, rest assured, we would have gone no where. Agreed,that this mission was approved by government,but this mission could have been achieved much earlier also. Our scientists have the will power, skills and intelligence to power a challenging mission like this and beyond (manned missions). It is also true that our leaders have to heavily debate every project as India is a democracy. But, i doubt that if the space endeavours are cancelled, the money alloted to them will bring any good to the poor in the country.Thanks to our politicians.They are just too currupt and greedy.Heck most of the money alloted to MP’s and MLA’s for improving their constituency goes whoosh. Also, the project has long term advantages.It has exploration of Helium-3 as one of its objectives which could help India satisfy its energy needs in the future. If we had not started with Aryabhatta back in 1975, we would not have been where we stand today. If we had thought Aryabhatta will do us no good and lets get rid of poverty first, we would have been light years behind other countries. Because of those small initial steps, we today in space have an array of remote sensing,educational,communication and defense satellites. And those satellites paved way for discoveringing hidden resources, exploit them better. We today launch satellites commercially.We have to sow the seeds now to reap benefits from them tomorrow. Chandrayaan-I is today as Aryabhatta was in 1975, a small stepping stone to sucess for future missions.

2. Another question being raised is “Bah! This was done by US/USSR 50 years ago,so its not much of an achievement”.

Well,if you say this then you have my full middle finger as an answer. When India announced plans for Chandrayaan-I, people were questioning India’s capability altogether,if India is indeed capable of undertaking such technologically challenging missions? many eyes were suspicious. Now when we have done it, you say its not much of an achievement! Ever heard of “foot-in-mouth-disease”? Also if it is not much of an achievement, why only 5 countries were able to accomplish this before Chandrayaan?

Chandrayaan is not just a chest thumping issue for India as it was for US/USSR when they indulged in space race propelled by the cold war to put the first man on moon. Chandrayaan intends to make more detailed maps of moon. It will only benefit mankind,so why all these lame arguements. Chandrayaan-I has 6 international probe aboard,all included free of cost, so instead of reaping benefits from Chandrayaan why are we still raising eyebrows on a supposedly third world country for launching its moon mission? India has time and again proved that it is arriving at the global stage like never before. Why ignore it? What is the need for doing so?

One more question on a rather neutral tone possible is, why moon? Why not Mars?Or atleast a manned mission?

Well, you need to grow steady.  India so far had only launched satellites into the Earth’s orbit. We had not ventured beyond Earth’s orbit. So we had to fist make a stop at the next higher level before going further. Who says it would have been wise attempting a direct manned landing on moon in 2020 without a dress rehearsal?  You need to have an expirience,expertise for every level and Chandrayaan-I will provide that for Chandrayaan-II and other missions. US and USSR have already learnt it, but we still are learing it so that we can send our man using this expirience.

I was obviously glued to my television screen from the morning as you know i just could not have afford to miss it.But i was surprised on finding many people were just not bothered to check it and were sleeping at the launch time(it was 0620 local time you see).

Congrats to all the frontline personnels and those beind the scenes who worked so hard. Project incharge, M. Anadurai does not even have an air conditioned office, but he and other people have done every Indian proud. The nation salutes you all.

Here is a video of the launch in case you were not able to catch it LIVE.

Jai Hind

The day is here. Years of hard work is about to pay off. India is all set to launch its first ever unmanned moon mission tomorrow.

Chandrayaan-I will be launched tomorrow, i.e. 22 October 2008 at 0620 hrs IST (0050 hrs GMT) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The probe will be set on a journey towards moon where it will collect useful data about the natural satellite of the earth. The long journey of 3,86,000 kms is expected to take about 5 and a half days.

Chandrayaan-I will be carried into space by India’s reliable rocket PSLV-C11 (Polar Satellite Launch Vahicle) which has in the past successfully launched many Indian and foriegn satellites into the orbit. Chandrayaan-I will revolve for around 2 years around the moon at an altitude of nearly 100kms and take high resolution 3D images of the lunar surface and try to find possible mineral deposits as well as traces of water. It will also look for presence of a rare isotope Helium-3, which can be very  useful in solving the energy riddle of our planet. The spacecraft translated into “Lunar Craft” (Chandra=lunar/moon and yaan= craft/vehicle) will carry a payload of 590kg which includes 5instruments from ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) and 6of other space agencies including NASA, ESA(European Space Agency).

This is the description of the spacecraft as given on the ISRO site:

Spacecraft for lunar mission is :

• Cuboid in shape of approximately 1.50 m side.
• Weighing 1304 kg at launch and 590 kg at lunar orbit.
• Accommodates eleven science payloads.
• 3-axis stabilized spacecraft using two star sensors, gyros and four reaction wheels.
• The power generation would be through a canted single-sided solar array to provide required power during all phases of the mission. This deployable solar array consisting of a single panel generates 700W of peak power. Solar array along with yoke would be stowed on the south deck of the spacecraft in the launch phase. During eclipse spacecraft will be powered by Lithium ion (Li-Ion) batteries.
• After deployment the solar panel plane is canted by 30º to the spacecraft pitch axis.
• The spacecraft employs a X-band, 0.7m diameter parabolic antenna for payload data transmission. The antenna employs a dual gimbal mechanism to track the earth station when the spacecraft is in lunar orbit.
• The spacecraft uses a bipropellant integrated propulsion system to reach lunar orbit as well as orbit and attitude maintenance while orbiting the moon.
• The propulsion system carries required propellant for a mission life of 2 years, with adequate margin.
• The Telemetry, Tracking & Command (TTC) communication is in S-band frequency.
• The scientific payload data transmission is in X-band frequency.
• The spacecraft has three Solid State Recorders (SSRs) on board to record data from various payloads.
• SSR-1 will store science payload data and has capability of storing 32Gb data.
• SSR-2 will store science payload data along with spacecraft attitude information (gyro and star sensor), satellite house keeping and other auxiliary data. The storing capacity of SSR-2 is 8Gb.
• M3 (Moon Mineralogy Mapper) payload has an independent SSR with 10Gb capacity.

Chandrayaan

The cost of Chandrayaan-I mission is estimated to be around $83 million.

So why all the fuss about Chandrayaan when US and USSR did this almost half a century ago? Well, a space mission is something to do with national pride as well. Indians will be proud to find themselves in the elite club of nations/space agencies who have achieved this incredible feat. The list as of now includes USA,Russia,China,Japan,ESA. Its not that difficult to understand what it takes to stand in that list which also does not includes many of the far more developed countries than India. It only re establishes the excellence of Indian minds and justifies why there is a demand for Indian brain worldwide. It re affirms India’s rise as a global super power not only economically but also technologically and millitarily. India’s inclusion will only heat up the space race in Asia. India will be seen as a more reliable option for countries wanting to place their satellites into the space but lacking the ability to do so. Not to forget, India’s space programme also has applications in improving the country’s defence. PSLV, the rocket developed by ISRO will be the base of Agni-V, India’s first ICBM (Inter Continental Ballistic Missile) with a range of 5000kms which is expected to be tested towards the end of 2010.

That gives you enough reasons to rejoice if you are an Indian. But at the same time, we should not forget we do not stop here. Though that is the last thing on ISRO’s agenda right now. ISRO is planning another mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-II, which will attempt to land on the moon. Chandrayaan-II will be launched between 2010-2012. ISRO also plans a manned lunar mission by 2020 and a unmanned mission to Mars. Way to go ISRO.

An ESA video on Chandrayaan-I:

All the very best to all the scientists working for the project. You guys deserve it.

Images from ISRO website and here

Sit through the full story and i promise you will be smiling within out of anger,frustration,more so if you were/are about to be affected by this anytime.

Story of Ant and Grasshopper

OLD VERSION…
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long building his
house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the
ant’s a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food
or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his
house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the
ant’s a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and
demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed
while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next
to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this
poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house. Medha
Patkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding that
grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter. Amnesty
International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not
upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper.
The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the
grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt
support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance). Opposition
MP’s stage a walkout. Left parties call for “Bharat Bandh” inWest
Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry. CPM in Kerala
immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat
so as to bring about equality of poverty among ants and grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian
Railway Trains, aptly named as the ‘Grasshopper Rath’.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism
Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]“, with effect from the beginning of
the winter.

Arjun Singh makes Special Reservation for Grass Hopper in educational
Institutions & in Govt Services.

The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left
to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government and
handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it “a triumph of justice”. Lalu calls it
‘Socialistic Justice’. CPM calls it the ‘revolutionary resurgence of
the downtrodden’ Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN
General Assembly.

Many years later…The ant has since migrated to the US and set up a
multi billion dollar company in silicon valley.100s of grasshoppers
still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India…

As a result, losing a lot of hard working ants and feeding the
grasshoppers ………………India is still a developing country……

THINK OVER IT!!!!!