By Ranjona Banerji
India made history on August 23, when the Vikram Lander made a successful soft landing close to the South Pole of the Moon. No other space-exploring nation has managed this. It was a thrilling moment, when the graphic of the rover touched down on the moon’s surface and the control room burst into applause and cheers.
A great triumph for India’s space programme, for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and all the scientists involved.
Of course, this is India. Therefore, the Indian media – most of it anyway – and the ISRO feed itself, had focused as much on the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he watched the landing as it did on the landing itself. And then, before we heard anything about the landing, we had to hear the Prime Minister speak from South Africa. There was no connection between the two events, that is the Prime Minister and the moon-landing. But like I said, this is India. Politicians rule.
The result of this was no science and all congratulatory hysteria. TV channels showed endless images of the moon-landing. All of these were computer generated, but it appears they forgot to tell their viewers. Or maybe the anchors themselves did not know. Who did they think took these images of the landing?
Later ISRO released the first photos of the moon’s surface, one of which showed the leg of the lander.
In all the coverage, very little was discussed about why we have undertaken this mission and what we expect to learn from it. You often hear people moaning about India’s lack of scientific temperament. Well, this is why. Our public science outreach is pathetic, science journalism is not encouraged and the result is ignorance. And when ignorance is coupled with jingoism, all you get is a general pall of stupidity.
While on the Prime Minister and South Africa, the Daily Maverick, a South African online news publication with a weekly newspaper, put out an intriguing story, also on August 23. It stated that the Indian Prime Minister landed in South Africa for the BRICS summit and then refused to get off his plane at Waterkloof Air Force Base, because only a Cabinet minister had come to receive him. The headline called it a “tantrum”.
This is of course a South African publication which owes no allegiance to the Indian government or the BJP. Shocking!
The day before, President Cyril Ramaphosa had received the Chinese President Xi Jianping, who was on a state visit. PM Modi was not on a state visit.
According to the Daily Maverick, Ramaphosa then had to despatch his deputy, who was busy with summit preparations, to receive Modi.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/ pm-modi-refused-to-deboard-plane-as-sa-govt-sent-minister-not-prez-to-welcome- him-in-contrast-to-chinas-xi-report
https://thewire.in/diplomacy/modi-brics-south-africa-plane-disembark-controversy
So why have I not posted the original report from Daily Maverick?
That story is as intriguing.
It took the official system – and I include the BJP IT Cell here – time to respond to this story. Mind you, no Indian media had carried reports any such incident. Instead, they spun the usual tale of NRIs dancing for Modi.
But people who went to the Daily Maverick site in a couple of hours, found they were blocked.
According a series of tweets or Xs or posts on X by the Daily Maverick, they were forced to bar India from accessing their site because of a massive cyberattack from India, attempting to take down their site.
Later, the South African government denied the Daily Maverick claim, while the Daily Maverick stuck to its story (screenshots attached).
Even now, most Indian media houses have found it difficult to report on this. The Free Press Journal was the first however to show its calibre and courage. And others like The Telegraph, the Newsminute, Wire followed. But for our “godi” or lapdog media, cue in the outrage at a foreign publication daring to report unfavourably on Modi.
While on the Newsminute, here’s an excellent report, in a fine series, from Manipur. You know, the place not as far as the moon or South Africa, which PM Modi barely acknowledges exists. Almost four months of anarchy, civil unrest, death and destruction there now.
https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/walked-all-day-four-kids-kuki-woman-recalls-horror-fleeing-her-village-181488
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.