The History of Astronomy

          

           Astronomy or Astrophysics has been a very attractive subject for Indians since ancient times. Ancient Indians, like Aryabatta, the great scientist, tried to figure out the secrets of the sky and deep space for predicting the future. This involved complex mathematical calculations and equations many of which are unknown to us today. Only a small fraction of these calculations is used at present for astrology and printing of Panchangams or religious texts. But, these are used only for religious purposes and the knowledge the calculations could provide us is still hidden to humankind.

           Ancient Indian religious texts are a huge treasure of knowledge on science and astrophysics but due to certain inaccuracies the whole text is termed false. The calculations used to find the exact timings of the solar and lunar eclipses, created over 1000 years ago are used even today and the calculations are still very accurate. The ancient Indians could tell about the Nava grahas (nine planets), grahanas (eclipses) and outer space without the use of any modern equipment.

          
           It is our moral duty to rediscover those calculations and bring back the huge knowledge that ancient India possessed.
 
To know the history Indian astrology, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_astrology

India is going to be the greatest supplier of fuel in a few years!

     India is going to be the greatest supplier of fuel in a few years!
 Unbelievable, isn't it?
         
          Uranium is considered the most essential fuel in today's world. But it is discovered that if the present rate of consumption continues, then, within a few decades Uranium would be in extreme shortage. So, secondary fuel resources would be in great demands.




Thorium

 This is where India comes in! It is said that in a few decades, thorium, a naturally occuring radioactive element, would replace uranium as it is more abundant and is economically beneficial.
 Thorium is particularly attractive for India, as it has only around 1–2% of the global uranium reserves, but one of the largest shares of global thorium reserves at about 30% of the total world thorium reserves.The country published about twice the number of papers on thorium as its nearest competitors, during each of the years from 2002 to 2006. The Indian nuclear establishment estimates that the country could produce 500 GWe for at least four centuries using just the country’s economically



extractable thorium reserves.
 A 2005 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency discusses potential benefits along with the challenges of thorium reactors. India has also made thorium-based nuclear reactors a priority with its focus on developing fast breeder technology.


Some benefits of thorium fuel when compared with uranium were summarized as follows:

• Weapons-grade fissionable material is harder to retrieve safely and clandestinely from a thorium reactor;
• Thorium produces 10 to 10,000 times less long-lived radioactive waste;
• Thorium mining produces a single pure isotope, whereas the mixture of natural uranium isotopes must be enriched to function in most common reactor designs. The same cycle could also use the fissionable U-238 component of the natural uranium, and also contained in the depleted reactor fuel;
• Thorium cannot sustain a nuclear chain reaction without priming, so fission stops by default in an accelerator driven reactor.

The Story of Our Freedom- from Colonialisation to Independence

          A series of events were involved in the colonialisation of India, the struggle for freedom and ultimately, the Indian Independence. Let us cherish our freedom by glancing through these events:

AD 1492	Vasco-da-Gama discovered India
AD 1600	After overthrowing the portugese and Dutch, the British established the British East India company in Surat, Ahmedabad, Broach and Agra.
1757	Battle of Plassey, between the English and Siraj-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Bengal.
22nd Oct 1764	Battle of Buxar, between the English and a trio of Mir qasim, Shah Alam and Shuja-ud-Daulah. The Nawabs were badly defeated.
1765	Treaty of Allahabad
1767-1798	The Mysore wars against English
1775-1818	The Maratha wars against English
1857	The first revolt for freedom: Great leaders like Rani Lakshmi Bhai, Tantya Tope and Kunwar Singh had sacrificed their life fighting for freedom.
1885	Establishment of the Indian National Congress
7th Aug 1905	Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal. Indian leaders started the Swadeshi and Boycott movement to oppose the partition.
1906	Establishment of All India Muslim League
1909	To create a gulf between the Hindus and Muslims the British followed the divide an rule policy. For this purpose it passed the government of India act
1916	The INC and Muslim league met and got united, to fight against the British. They signed the Lucknow Pact.
13th April 1919	Several innocent people were murdered recklessly in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
1929	Lahore session of congress launched the Civil Disobedience movement, demanding for complete independence.
26th January 1930	The day was observed as the first independence day by Congress all over India. This day is the present Republic day.
1931	Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged
8th Aug 1942	The all India congress committee met at Bombay. It passed the famous quit India resolution.
1943	Subhash Chandra Bose formed the Azad Hind Fauj (INA)
1943-1947	several acts and conferences
20th Feb 1947	Mr.Atlee declared that British would quit India by June 1947.
14th Aug 1947	Pakisthan Independence day
15th Aug 1947	This day is a great landmark in the History of India. India won freedom but lost its unity.

                         The freedom struggle wasn't a bigger version of today's strikes and protests. It was a mixture of fights, oaths, sacrifices and bloodshed of several hundred Indians. The freedom which we so obviously enjoy today, wasn't always so obvious for us Indians. It is a gift presented to us by our great leaders. We must utilise it productively.

 

Happy Indian Independence day

 

            Do you know what I do every independence day? Come on! Guess it! I watch TV! This isn’t a joke. It makes me proudly appreciate the freedom of speech and expression because of which we are able to see what’s happening in Denmark sitting at home in Delhi. The Tamil channels have very good debates or ‘pattimandram’ on Independence Day. I saw a very interesting one which not only made me laugh, but also made me think. The discussion was: What is most important for the development of India- money, political intelligence or force?’ The speakers shared so much knowledge that even the greatest scholars of the world cannot put together in the time given. Such is the talent of the Indian youths. It makes us think: why is the nation that created great minds like Mahatma Gandhi, Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam still lagging behind in the world?

 

            Exactly 66 years before today was hoisted the first tricolour of independent India. On this very day was sung the divine anthem, which wasn’t just the song of freedom, but also the spirit of freedom. This is the day our people breathed the first breath of freedom after years of struggle, struggle for being free from foreigners, in our own country,. Those were days when Indians couldn’t walk on equal platforms with foreigners, within the Indian boundaries. Today, India has given equal rights to all her residents, whether they’re Hindus or Muslims or Sikhs or Buddhists. Today, we’ve freedom of speech and expression, freedom for life and freedom for hope. Today, beyond all differences, we, the citizens of India, know and value our identities as Indians.

           

            Rakesh Sharma, during his expedition to the moon, spoke to Indira Gandhi, the then Prime minister of India. When questioned what India looked like from the space, he answered ‘Saare Jahaan se achcha. Hindusthan hamara!’ Another such great soul was also created on this divine day. We cherish the birth anniversary of Shri.Arobindo, the precious jewel of Bengal, on this day. This isn’t just a co-incidence according to me. It is, I believe, the vibration of this auspicious day, that this day has presented us with so much wellness. We Indians must be proud to celebrate such a great day.

             We must do something special, something worthwhile for the country on this day. The size of our contribution doesn’t matter. We must do something good, something that would make us feel the patriotism in us, that would bring out the Indian spirit in us.

           

 

             We must salute to our nation, the great leaders who fought for our freedom on those days and the soldiers who are fighting, for our security, today.  

 

 Jai Hind!