Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to go to the polls in the expectation that a strong Conservative party result would strengthen her government’s hand in the Brexit negotiations in Brussels was a calculation that went awry Her message of stability and firm government cut little ice with voters, who were clearly more concerned about their standard of living, and a variety of welfare issues. The recent jihadi terror attack in the London Bridge area, in which innocent members of the public were wantonly done to death, coupled with a financial cut in the police budget did nothing to inspire public confidence in her judgment. Her perceived U-turns on aspects of her party’s manifesto didn’t help either. Although the largest party in Parliament, the Conservatives lack the absolute majority to govern on their own; they will have to look to the Democratic Unionist party of Northern Ireland for support, hence will be forced to compromise on their Brexit agenda..
The Opposition Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn’s inspired leadership, concentrated on social issues, which struck a responsive chord across a broad spectrum of the electorate. :Labour gained around thirty seats, and are now a credible national force. They may lack the numbers just yet to form an alternative government, but they may well be on the road to do so in the not too distant future.
Those within the Labour party who scoffed at what they perceived as Mr Corbyn’s seeming lack of leadership skills must think again. He has ridden out their challenge and the abuse of the country press barons and emerged stronger for the ordeal. The tabloids and broadsheets who sought to demonize him have lost ground in the moral and intellectual stakes. The Fourth Estate in Britain, much like its uglier American sibling qualify as a fourth-rate estate.
British is in turbulent waters. Ms May could weather the turbulence in the short-term, but is doomed to abdicate sooner rather than later, with a party and nation deeply divided. A second election cannot be too far-off. One cannot even guess, at this stage, whether Brexit will have a hard or a soft landing.
Spectacular space triumph
It wouldn’t be an Oriental hyperbole to describe the launch last week of GSLV Mark-III as a true triumph of mind and matter. To send a satellite weighing nearly four tones into deep space in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a perigree (closest point to Earth) of 170 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 35, 975 km was a jaw-dropping exercise.. India is now in an elite club of four – the US, Russia, the European Space Agency and China. GSat-19, a communications satellite, will enhance India’s communications infrastructure. The satellite weighs 3,1136kg. The launch provides a platform for India to propel a 4 tonne satellites into deep space. Previously such launches were contracted to foreign agencies at considerable cost. The cryogenic engine powering the rocket, India’s heaviest, is equivalent to five fully loaded Boeing aircraft estimated to be 640 tonnes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi twttered: ‘The GGSLV MKIII D GSAT-19 mission will take India closer t the next generation launch vehicles and satellite capability. The nation is proud.’ As, surely, it should be. Hereby hangs a tale of unconquerable endeavour. The cryogenic engine was indigenously designed and manufactured by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) following decades of dedicated research and development. Originally ISRO had a deal with the former Soviet Union to train Indian scientists and engineers, but under relentless pressure from the Clinton Administration in Washington, President Boris Yeltsin, of the new Russian Federation, aborted the contract to supply the critical technology., The US permitted the supply of a few Russian cryogenic engines. True to form, the US Administration confiscated the Indian blueprint for the Tejas supersonic aircraft from the offices of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation hired as a consultant by the Indian Aeronautical agency. In both instances, the relevant Indian bodies decided to go it alone, relying on the brains and dedication of homegrown talent.
These were bold visionary decisions with myriad benefits in the medium and long-term. This should never be forgotten. Curiously none of India’s mainstream media made even passing mention of the American role. No talk here of shared democratic values and similar guff. The cryogenic engine has no military use. Put it down the Indian media’s memory loss to expectations of a lucrative fellowship to American fellowships.
ISRO Chairman Kiran Kumar spoke of the ‘culmination of large amounts of work done over decades.’ He explained: ‘The cryogenic stage is a complex technology. We were making it for the first time; we faced no serious test failures or problems. That is a world record. It is a marvel that we were able to achieve this, despite limited resources. Based on experience, we made modifications and had all the issues addressed. More than 200 tests have been done since December 2014. The entire team was confident.’
The success of the GSLV mission will probably help India attract foreign customers who seek demonstrated competence plus cost benefits, which India can meet with ease. ‘As far as Mk III is concerned, we are planning two launches every year. Right now our focus is on making sure that whatever bottlenecks are there we achieve our goal of 12 launches per year,’ said Kiran Kumar.
When one looks at the entire canvas, India’s journey has been nothing short of a space odyssey. In 1963, a Thumba rocket was fired from the garden of a local church garden in Kerala. Fifty-four years later India is an elite space power. At this special moment, the vision and dedication of outstanding leaders of ISRO – those who took it to the next levels – deserve the nation’s gratitude, men such U.R.Rao and Satish Dhawan et al.
Lessons of OBOR
China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) has been creating waves lately. It took China decades to recover from Chairman Mao’s lunatic Great Leap Forward, the People’s Communes and the murderous Cultural Revolution, and its attendant famine – the worst in recorded history. . That the country was able to recover from these traumatic experiences is surely the most lasting tribute to the residence of the Chinese people, their work ethic and their daunting entrepreneurial skills. China’s late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, counselled his younger colleagues to, ‘hide your strength and bide your time.’
This they have done and now believe their country’s time has come. Chinese muscle-flexing in the South China Sea, irredentist territorial claims on the Himalayan border have caused deepening concern. It is a recurring tragedy in human affairs that arrogance – hubris, in other words, brings its nemesis. The rise and fall of Germany in the first half of the twentieth century surely has lessons for all humankind.
China’s rulers have little appetite for the history and cultures of foreigners, hence they press on regardless. It has very deep pockets, which its regime has decided, to exploit to the full in an unprecedented economic expansion across continents, from Africa to Latin America. Mega projects have been undertaken to the delight of recipients. Huge Chinese credits came with no questions asked about accountability or domestic politics and social practices. A leading example is oil rich Venezuela in South America. When a barrel of oil fetched $100 on the international market, the Maduro regime had no problem meeting its interest payments on Chinese loans; when oil prices collapsed to $30 a barrel the country’s economy shattered. Food prices soared, as did inflation. Scarcity became the norm. Venezuela is bankrupt. To meet its obligations, its oil and gas exports to China have doubled and the revenues halved.
In South West Africa’s Namibia, China is constructing the world’s largest uranium mine for its nuclear power industry. At every stage , from machinery to workforce, which now numbers a million and more across the continent, and rising. In Zambia, for example, Chinese labour practices have led to popular demonstrations. Chinese money, steel, cement and other material is presently constructing a massive rail network linking East Africa with Central Africa with no thought of an accumulative debt burden at the end of te rainbow.. China is acquiring the natural resources of Africa and exporting its economic problems in exchange. The reforms China’s economy urgently needs are blocked for political reasons; its domestic debt in ratio to GDP has turned toxic. All that glitters in The One Belt, One Road project is not gold. Caveat Emptor
