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By:

Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 3:50:16 pm

Persistent Eye

With the successful launch of the EOS-05 aboard the GSLV-F17, India has finally acquired its first dedicated Earth-imaging satellite designed to operate from a geosynchronous orbit. The imaging satellite is a significant step towards strategic self-reliance and will make us less dependent on foreign technology and intelligence. The imaging satellite gives us something every serious space power needs: the ability to watch, rather than merely look. Given the magnitude of our threats and...

Persistent Eye

With the successful launch of the EOS-05 aboard the GSLV-F17, India has finally acquired its first dedicated Earth-imaging satellite designed to operate from a geosynchronous orbit. The imaging satellite is a significant step towards strategic self-reliance and will make us less dependent on foreign technology and intelligence. The imaging satellite gives us something every serious space power needs: the ability to watch, rather than merely look. Given the magnitude of our threats and challenges, persistent surveillance is the only way out. Our very own imaging satellite was perhaps the single-most important element missing during Operation Sindoor, where we otherwise demonstrated our skill in precision targeting. Nearly 36,000 km above the Earth, the satellite will have a vastly different vantage point from conventional low-Earth-orbit satellites, which periodically pass over a particular area and provide snapshots. EOS-05 is designed to repeatedly observe large swathes of territory, including the Indian subcontinent and adjoining regions. A satellite that passes overhead can tell you what happened when it was there. But persistent eye can tell you what is happening real-time. This matters enormously when the subject is a rapidly changing battlefield or in monitoring activity along a remote border. India has long depended on a combination of its own satellites and imagery acquired from foreign commercial and government sources. The less we look elsewhere for strategic eyes, the greater is our autonomy. EOS-05 strengthens the country’s capacity for continuous intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. It can add another layer to monitoring the Line of Actual Control and other sensitive borders, track developments across the Indian Ocean and provide commanders with a more persistent picture of a fast-moving situation. There is a civilian dividend, too. The same ability to repeatedly observe a large area can prove invaluable during cyclones, cloudbursts, floods and forest fires, when conditions can change faster than conventional satellite revisits allow. Its visible, infrared, multispectral and hyperspectral imaging capabilities can also assist agriculture, environmental monitoring and the management of natural resources. Without compromising national security, ISRO should regularly release a non-sensitive image of interest from EOS-05. If a dramatic natural event occurs, point the satellite at it and show the public what India's new eye can see. There is also a historical irony here. India could have possessed this capability several years earlier had the EOS-03 mission not failed in 2021. The successful launch of EOS-05 is, in that sense, a recovery of lost ground. For a country surrounded by difficult borders, exposed to an increasingly contested maritime domain and operating in an era of rapidly escalating technological warfare, knowing what is happening is the first condition of knowing what to do. India has spent decades learning to reach space. It is now learning to keep an eye on Earth.

BJP Boost

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

As the dust settles over the recent Assembly elections, the BJP, defying anti-incumbency prediction of political Cassandras and exit polls, is set for a historic third term in Haryana. This will buoy the party after its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The Haryana outcome not only reinforces the BJP’s foothold in national politics but also presents a counter-narrative to the INDIA bloc’s post-election fervour.

Despite the bogey stoked by lingering farmer protests and discontent surrounding the controversial Agniveer scheme, the BJP strategically diversified its approach, relying not solely on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s star power—evidenced by his reduced number of rallies—but also on a ground-level consolidation of anti-Jat votes. The Congress’s over-reliance on the Jat community backfired, rallying other groups against it. Interestingly, the Dalit vote, which the Congress anticipated would tilt in its favour, has not completely abandoned the BJP.


At the forefront of the BJP's campaign was Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, whose relatively short tenure allowed him to distance himself from the decade-long rule of the previous administration. By introducing measures to benefit the backward classes, including a significant income limit increase for OBC employment from Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 8 lakh, the BJP effectively shifted the narrative in its favour. Their mantra of ‘bina parchi, bina kharchi Naukri (promising jobs without bribes) resonated with voters.


The BJP’s rejuvenated team, led by key figures such as Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state leaders, has seemingly addressed concerns that arose following its poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections. The incorporation of new candidates in place of established leaders provided a fresh face that contrasted sharply with the Congress’s decision to recycle incumbents.


In contrast, in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference, in alliance with the Congress, having crossed the majority threshold, reclaimed its historic dominance and is set to form the government. Here, the BJP’s performance in the first Assembly election held after the abrogation of Article 370, fell short despite its strenuous attempt to position itself as a proponent of development.


The electorate’s apparent rejection of hardline factions like the PDP reflects a nuanced response and win for democracy. Notably, the results have shown a significant rejection of separatist candidates, including those from Engineer Rashid-led Awami Ittehad Party and Jamaat-e-Islami, who failed to make a meaningful impact in the polls.


The BJP’s emphatic victory in Haryana redeems its Lok Sabha misstep but also signals a broader political resurgence, giving the party renewed vigour to march into future contests like the crucial Maharashtra Assembly election.

 
 
 

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