India's Mars Mission: Justified??

Recently, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) achieved a major landmark when they successfully launched the "Mangalayan"- India's spacecraft for the Mars. Of course it has not yet reached its destination, but it is in orbit, and so far things have gone according to plan. This is a project funded by the Government of India, and it is worth INR 450 crores.

Immediately after the launch conflicting opinions have started proliferating the main media as well as social media. People with a leftward tilt have criticized the project to varying degrees, the general argument being that a Mars voyage with Government funding is not justified in a country where a shocking number of people are unable to lead a life of minimum dignity and comfort due to poverty. The western media has criticized the mission on the same ground. The jingoist brigade has taken offence at this, and declared that India's Mars mission is a "tight slap on the face of the jealous Western media". They want India to "teach the westerners a lesson"- namely that Indians are in no way inferior to them in technology, especially in space technology. 

Some feel that if "India" can spend thousands of crores of money over cricket and Diwali crackers, then why not over a spacecraft also? 

The scientific community has generally pointed out that 1) The project is quite low-cost 2) Every good research ultimately benefits mankind as a whole 3) This project is a morale-booster for science and technology research in India, and will make westward-bound Indian science/engineering students consider studying and working in India.

First of all, there is no doubt about the shocking levels of poverty in India. I don't see how any sane person can talk about "teaching the Western world a lesson" when so many of India's own people are living in miserable conditions. It is probably true that the Western media is jealous, but unfortunately the points they are raising are irrefutably true. I do not want to debate the scientific community's claim that this will ultimately benefit humanity including these poor people. However even if it were true, it would seem a greater priority to me to channelize government spending in a way that is more tangible in terms of improving the minimum living conditions of the people as soon as possible. The reason why I am not opposing the Mars mission strongly is that it is actually quite low-cost, compared to most government projects. Even some of the smaller railway projects consume several thousands of crores. And of course, the points being made about Diwali crackers or cricket are irrelevant. "Spending money" is not the point, we need to see who is spending the money, and to whom the money is going! The spendings over Diwali crackers or cricket are not by the government! It would have been best if instead of the Government, the project had been funded by profit-making yet well-meaning Indian companies and entrepreneurs (if any such companies or entrepreneurs exist), or by voluntary donations by the people, especially the scientific community. 

I have heard some very optimistic thoughts by idealists. Thoughts on the lines of "the poorest people will look up at the sky- towards the Mars- and think that if their poor country could get there, then they can also rise out of their poverty". Or that the bright Indian student who is fed up with the quality of research in India will have a morale boost. Well, I highly doubt if these- especially the former- will ever happen. Well, if it happens, then it is good! 

Speeding up Indian Railways

India has one of the largest railway networks in the world, which is also one of the largest employers in the world. It is amazingly complex, and has to deal with a number of very unique challenges. However when it comes to efficiency, it is at best decent, and has lots of room for improvement. Safety and punctuality are major issues, and there is also a need for redistribution of trains (more trains in many routes, particularly in rural areas and suburban railways, perhaps instead of redundant trains on the main and saturated routes).

A glaring drawback of Indian Railways is the speed of trains. Currently only one train reaches 160 Kph (that too in small patches), and a handful of others (perhaps 10-12) reach 130 Kph. 130 or 160 Kph as maximum speed are not really bad by international standards, but the average speed of Indian trains is disappointing to say the least. Only three trains average 90 Kph or more and around 10 are in 80-90 Kph. These are all "elite" trains- Rajdhani, Shatabdi or Duronto- fully air-conditioned and relatively short (15-16 coaches). The long 24-coach mail/express trains usually do not have average speeds of even 70 Kph with maximum speed restricted to 110 Kph.

The really baffling thing is that there does not appear to be any serious will among the authorities to improve this situation. These speeds have remained static since the last 30-40 years. Admittedly there are now some more trains averaging above 80 Kph than about 15 years back, and some routes (like Howrah-New Jalpaiguri) have seen considerable improvements, but the overall standard has not gone up at all. Also, some Express trains have actually been slowed down considerably. Poorva Express, Kalka Mail, Tamil Nadu Express, Vaigai Express are only some trains to suffer this fate. And all this despite the fact that many of these trains run entirely over fully-electrified Class-A tracks (fit for 160 Kph), and over the years, the locomotives as well as signalling systems have been considerably improved.

I want to see the speed bar of Indian trains (except for local services) being raised by at least 15-20Kph. I believe it is possible to achieve this simply with intelligent scheduling and without any significant change in infrastructure. The process is undoubtedly long and challenging. However, it can start as follows:

Many of the routes connecting the 7 major cities of India (Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad) are fully electrified, Class A tracks with double line. All the Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto trains in these routes should aim to attain the speed of 160 Kph for as long as possible. This should be possible with WAP5 locomotives with 15-16 carriages with the state-of-the-art LHB rakes. Consequently, the average speeds of these trains should be scaled up to 100-110 Kph. This will quicken the journeys of trains like Howrah Rajdhani (13 hrs), Sealdah Rajdhani (13 hrs), Sealdah-New Delhi Duronto (12.5 hrs), Howrah-Mumbai Duronto (19 hrs), Howrah-Chennai Duronto (yet to be introduced-16 hrs), Mumbai Rajdhani (12 hrs), August Kranti Rajdhani (13 hrs), Chennai Rajdhani (20 hrs), Secunderabad Rajdhani (16 hrs), Mumbai-Ahmendabad Shatabdi (4.5 hrs) and Chennai-Bangalore Shatabdi (3.5 hrs). 

Apart from these premier trains with relative less coaches, many classic "superfast" trains with 24 coaches also ply on these routes on daily basis. These trains have a large number of non-AC coaches, which are limited to 110 Kph. It should be a priority to rework the design of these coaches so that they can run at 130-140Kph, if not 160. If this can be done, then 24-coach trains with WAP7 locomotives should be able to run consistently at 140Kph on the Class A tracks, with average speeds of around 90 Kph. This set of trains can include: Poorva and/or Howrah-New Delhi Superfast (16 hrs), Gitanjali and/or Jnaneswari Express (22 hrs), Coromondal Express (19 hrs), Golden Temple Mail (15.5 hrs between Mumbai and Delhi), Tamil Nadu Express (24 hrs), Andhra Pradesh Express (19 hours), Brindavan and/or Lalbagh Express (4 hrs), Kerala Express (36 hrs).

Once these are achieved, the target should be to improve the speed bars of the remaining trains. No express train should have an average speed below 50 Kph. The speed-up will ensure that the train is again relevant to well-off urban professionals. As punctuality improves and distribution of trains is re-adjusted to suit the needs of passengers, people living in rural areas will have easier access to nearest major stations where they can board the fast-moving trains to their destinations. I hope that the train, always more energy-efficient and eco-friendly, again becomes the first-choice mode of transport in India, trumping roadways and low-cost private airlines.

songs and memories

I am not a great fan of music, but an average fan no doubt. Over the last 4 years I have developed this habit of putting on headphones while working in the lab, and playing song after song on Youtube, or turning on my MP3 player and plugging in the earphones while travelling by train/air, or taking strolls in the campus. Before I developed these habits, when I was at home I often listened to songs on TV/radio. It is amazing how certain songs are able to encode the exact feel of a particular time, and can take a person's mind back to that time when played much later. I am 27 now, at the advanced stages of my PhD, and it won't be long before I finish my student life, and my youth. I always have had the habit of looking back, and try to re-live certain times in the past. For this purpose I created a list of songs, which, when listened in a certain sequence, runs me through some of the most memorable times of my post-school student life- B.E., M.E. and Ph.D.

1) Saanson ko saanson me dhalne do zara (Movie: Hum-Tum)

August 2004. First year, first semester in JU. Beginning of a completely new life, not sure how to handle it. A lot of freedom and relaxation on offer, not sure whether to accept it or not. Confusion.

2) Dhoom macha le (Movie: Dhoom)

September 2004. Settling into college life. Freshers' Welcome. The entire class danced on the dias of Gandhi Bhavan to this song.

3) Chand sifarish (Movie: Fanaa)

June 2006. Now settled in JU, with an established circle of friends, and priorities in college life fixed. It was a hot summer, semester exams over, working on the IIM project. Occasional visits to IIM Joka. Often used to go to the JU Architecture lab and work from there. Friends also hung around this lab.

4) Tu hi meri shab hai (Movie: Gangster)

October 2006. Trip to Pune and Mumbai with JBNSTS. Staying away from home with other students (not particularly close friends) for a significant period of time (15 days). Beautiful, serene nights in the Pune University campus.

5) Ya Ali raham Ali (Movie Gangster)

March-April 2007. Insanely busy. Studying hard for GRE. Working on 3 projects simultaneously. Trying to keep up with studies in class, and recover the faltering CGPA. Placements appearing in the horizon. Cracked GRE with an awesome score, but hit by chicken pox less than a week before start of semester exams. Writing exams alone in separate room.

6) Tala tum tala tum (Movie: Aitraaz)

August-September 2007. Academics have become second priority. Preoccupied with the continuing tensions with one of my best friends and my only female friend at that time. Highly disturbed, worried and scared.

7) Ye ishq haai (Movie: Jab We Met)

December 2007. Recovering from the tension just mentioned. Trying to put life in order, and get focus back to academics. TIFR, GATE knocking on the door.

8) Zara si dil mein de jagah tu (Movie: Zannat)

June 2008. B.E. over, and over in the worst way imaginable (keeping academics aside). Emotionally drained and bankrupt. Feeling of loneliness. Unexpected call from IISc. Interaction with would-be classmates over Orkut. Hopes for a happier life in IISc.

9) Where's the party tonite? (Movie: Kabhie Alvida na kehna)

June-July 2009. Completed a depressing first semester and an unthinkably hectic second semster in IISc. Trying to get M.E. project going. Trying to get a hold of a completely unfamiliar but fascinating subject. Rainy days. Class trip to Coorg. Awesome happy experience- revenge of the disastrous JU picnic (Tala tum). Great hopes- project will work out, paper will be published, offer will come from a good US university, and will celebrate by dancing to the beats of this song with friends.

10) Azaadi (Movie: Bose the Forgotten Hero)

November 2009. Time for first paper submission, and also application to US universities. "Insanely busy" too weak a statement. Worked 76 hours in last 4 days before paper submission. Applications completed at last moment. Completely gutted but great hopes.

11) Tu tu hai wahi

May-june 2010. All dreams crushed. M.E. looks average. No publication. No option left but to continue in same place for Ph.D.

12) Dil de diya hai (Movie: Masti)

September 2010. First semster of Ph.D. Missing classmates. Lonely, bored and depressed. Analysis class failing to turn me on. Instead craving for a quick freedom from written exams.

13) Tara Tara Hidisire (Movie: Kempegowda, kannada)

June 2011. Yahoo internship going on. Very busy and strained. Not enough rest. Still satisfied- having too much to do is always better than having nothing to do. Interaction with world outside campus- with other kinds of people.

14) Why this kolaveri di?

November-December 2011. Finally out of the prolonged phase of depression. Trying to make up a new life.

15) Badal pe paon hai (Movie: Chak de India)

First foreign trip. Incredible experience. Returning alone by flight. Spending night alone in Delhi airport- so much life and vigour everywhere. Super excitement. 

On the Delhi Rape

In December 2012, India was shaken by the ghastly rape and subsequent death of a young woman, pseudonym-ed as Damini or Nirbhaya. While India has a shamefully high number of rapes (many of which supposedly go unreported), the capital city of Delhi had in recent years acquired the title "rape capital" for the particularly high (even by Indian standards) number of rapes happening in it. Even then, this one has received huge media coverage and has provoked unprecedented outrage in Delhi, (partly?) because of its horribly brutal nature. 

The public reaction to this horrible incident has mostly been centered around vociferous demands for stricter laws and more severe punishment (including death penalty) for rapists. But whether stringent laws and tough punishment can actually reduce rapes or not, will not be clear unless the causes of rape are understood correctly. In the wake of the mentioned incident, there have been analyses of why so many rapes are happening in India. The most important factors which have been highlighted are 1) with the increasing emancipation of females, egoistic males are feeling threatened, and rape is their method of trying to subdue women, 2) the proliferation of "Western Culture", 3) Influence of certain advertisements and movies (especially item numbers) which "objectify women", 4) Lack of sexual freedom in India etc.

I am no social scientist. Nor do i have access to data to give opinions on how important these factors are. But personally, I find it hard to believe that rapes have anything to do with lack of sexual freedom. Rape is an enormously violent activity, and no one can possibly get sexual pleasure out of it. If at all someone does get pleasure, it would be sadistic or some such perverted form of pleasure. I do not quite understand what is "Western Culture", so nor can I comment about it. It is true that some item songs of Bollywood and regional movies seem insensitive in their portrayal of women, and personally I do think it is possible that they give the impression to people that women do not mind getting raped. However I also do not like the idea of blaming Bollywood or the movie industry as a whole for this matter. Surely there are many movies which do portray women nicely. While it can be argued that such movies are usually "flop" in the box office, the film industry cannot be blamed for that. Rather, I would believe (again, without data) that the non-uniform and non-inclusive economic growth in India in recent years is a more important factor.

But another point on which I do not see much discussion is about what are the implications of rape on the victim. In India, rape is viewed as "dishonoring" a woman, or robbing her of  her modesty. Most anti-rape activists say that rape is worse than murder, because a raped victim has to live through hell for the rest of her life, because of the social stigma that gets associated with her. But why should that be the case? Why cannot rape be looked upon as simply a horrible form of violence on women? Why at all is there any talk of dishonoring? No one can be dishonored by subjecting him/her to violence. Rape victims must not feel dishonored, they must not feel ashamed, they have no reason to. The society too must not attach any stigma with a rape victim- neither cringe at her sight, nor consider her a slut and nor pity her, but consider her as just another normal person. I do not know how to stop rapes, but can we not ensure that rape victims do not have to feel  that they have been dishonored? And if the feminist theory regarding rapes is true (rape is a way of subduing women), then indeed this should reduce the number of rapes, as the rapists will understand that women cannot be subdued by raping!!