As we all know in 2008, India launched a space probe to the moon giving much pride and joy to the Indian people. Perhaps for the duration of the launch and journey it helped distract them from the realities of their country.
There are some Pakistanis who also suffer from false pride in things such as having an advanced air force or something else that does not entirely benefit the country despite the pride it gives.
Heck I myself suffered from pride in having a strong military and other things that distracted me from the realities of my country.
The space launch and other things like that are what blinds many Indians especially those in the elite class from the miserable conditions of their country and incites them with this false pride and ignorance to the fact that their country is the opposite of what they want to believe it is.
There were a few reactions from the Pakistani side to follow in pursuit. No doubt in my mind that many from the Muhajir community were thrilled to hear of their ethnic brethren across the border showing the Pakistanis (mainly Punjabis) competition.
As mentioned, some reactions from Pakistanis were hopes that Pakistan may follow in a similar space launch in the near future. This is where my concerns arise and my purpose of this post to disagree. The Indians are in no position to spare an average amount of 79 million dollars in purchasing rockets from the Russian Federation when they are the world's leader in poverty, HIV and hunger.
All the money it invests in unnecessary things to impress the world would be much more useful when invested into population control. Already by mid century the country is expected to reach two billion people at the growth rate it is at.
Instead of trying to match India pride for pride, Pakistan needs to be more wise and not waste it's precious budget into such foolishness. Let's face it. Doing what India did in 2008 or at other times won't change the fact that we are an impoverished third world country ourselves. Nor will it fool other people around the world from the reality of what we are.
Already we waste plenty of our budget on our military. It is not that I oppose maintaining our defense given that we are in a dangerous region of hostile neighbors and also live in a dangerous time era.
It's the overspending of money on things like military housing and VIP transportation that does not really contribute to defense.
Pakistan should not take such kinds of steps in wasting money on projects for the sake of preserving a positive image. No image can be more positive than being a safe, stable and most importantly sustainable country.
Just because the Indians are behaving foolishly and trying to distract the world from their worst conditions by taking pot shots at Somali pirates or sending rockets to the moon does not mean Pakistan has to waste it's money and resources doing the same.
Pakistan actually could create a better impression of itself by diverting money into population reduction and enhancing natural ecosystems instead of importing foreign technology and parading it as if we built it ourselves. That would actually make us look cheap at least to those who know our country's conditions.
Both the government and people of Pakistan need to snap out of their ignorance and refuse to drop to the level of the Brahman elites of India who pride themselves in trying to impress and deceive the rest of the world from what they really are.
This means Pakistan should have no such childish aims or ambitions on investing in projects that really do us no good. Simply exploring the moon will not benefit our country or take care of our problems whereas investing in population reduction and environmental and educational reforms will.
Below is a video that partially discusses India's space probe launch and anti-piracy activities in the Indian ocean:
No comments:
Post a Comment