Interaction With School Students At Madikeri, Kodagu District, Karnataka

Karnataka : 07-04-2006

I am delighted to visit Madikeri and interact with the students of this beautiful place. My greetings to the students, teachers, parents and other distinguished invitees.

My message

Dear Children, you are all in the mission of learning. What learning will give?

"When learning is purposeful, creativity blossoms.

When the creativity blossoms, thinking emanates.

When thinking emanates, knowledge is fully lit.

When knowledge is lit, society gets empowered"

Launch of EDUSAT

Dear Children, I would like to recall an event of launching geo-synchronous vehicle on 20th September 2004. It is a huge three stage controlled and guided rocket system weighing 400 tonnes. This world class rocket system has put a communication satellite called EDUSAT (Education satellite) in the geosynchronous orbit. This rocket has capability to inject a satellite of one thousand Kg in the orbit with the velocity of 10.2 kilometers per second. This means speed of the satellite is 36 times the speed of modern passenger jet aircraft. That means you will be surprised to know it will take less than five minutes to travel from Delhi to Bangalore instead of two and half hours by a jet. Do you know what geosynchronous orbit is? Geosynchronous orbit refers to the path of the satellite around the earth at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers in equatorial plane with the same rotational velocity of earth. The satellite now beams the education programmes throughout the day and night.

Objective of EDUSAT

The prime objective of the EDUSAT programme is to provide support to education through low-cost ground segments and to reach the un-reached people of India to every nook and corner. The satellite is specially configured to have multiple beams covering different regions of India. This is a satellite operating in Ku band in 17 Giga hertz frequency band facilitating the use of small transmit/receive ground terminals. It provides communication coverage through five regional beams and a national beams.

This system will be primarily for school, college and higher level of education; however it will also support non-formal education. In the initial phase EDUSAT will cover about 100 to 200 classrooms per beam. The EDUSAT, when fully operational will have a capacity of 30 uplinks and about 5000 remote terminals per uplink. EDUSAT is expected to provide one-lakh fifty thousand ground terminals in its full capacity.

For example, suppose a mathematics teacher takes a class in Bangalore, it is beamed to EDUSAT satellite in real time and the students in the class rooms at Madikeri can see the teacher and hear the lessons. Students from the various parts of the country- a village school in Bihar, a village in Orissa, North East, Punjab can also hear his/her teaching and can ask the questions in sequence. Hence a good teacher teaching anywhere in the country in any language can be heard, seen and interacted. Nowhere in the world an exclusive education satellite is in the orbit today, except India. This great scientific achievement has been made possible due to our Indian space Scientists and partner institutions. Friends, we are witnessing how a space vision by Prof. Vikram Sarabhai has been transformed into reality leading to benefit to society. Prof. Vikram Sarabhai was indeed my role model when I started my professional career as rocket engineer.

I want students of Madikeri to be linked through satellite so that you all can interact freely. I am working on this project and talking to Department of Space so that this goal could be achieved soon. Subsequently, on 5th May 2005 when CARTOSAT-I was injected in the polar orbit of 618 km., it has become a world class earth mapper. This satellite can give you the pictures of Madikeri and your position in this ground.

Nothing is impossible

Human flight is nothing but creativity of human mind and it undergoes several struggles to achieve excellence. In 1895, a great scientist Lord Kelvin, who was the President of Royal Society of London said, "any thing heavier than air cannot fly, and cannot be flown." Within a decade, Wright Brothers proved man could fly of course at heavy risk and cost.

On the successful completion of Moon Mission in 1969, Von Braun, a very famous rocket designer, who built Saturn-V, to launch the capsule with astronauts and made moon walk a reality, in 1975 said "If I am authorized, I will remove the word impossible".

In ancient days, Ptolemaic astronomy is a widely used system in calculating the dynamics of various stars and planets. Assumption by then was that the earth is flat. What a scientific struggle had to take place to prove that the earth is spherical in shape orbiting around the sun. The three great astronomers Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler had to give a new dimension to the world of astronomy. Today we take it for granted that earth is a globe, orbiting around the sun, and the sun orbits in the Milky Way. All the technological advancements we have today are the outcome of scientific exploration of scientists of earlier centuries. At no time, man was beaten by problems. He strives continuously to subjugate impossibility and then succeeds.

According to the laws of aerodynamics the bumblebee should never be able to fly. Because of the size, weight, and shape of its body in relationship to the total wing span, flying is scientifically impossible. The bumblebee, being ignorant of scientific theory, goes ahead and flies anyway. I would like the youth assembled here to take a lesson from these examples and work to make everything possible.

Diverting Asteroids

On July 2005 one important event took place in space. That was the impact of the NASA spacecraft called deep impact smashing into the comet Tempel-I, with enough force to create football stadium sized crater with a depth of a 14 storey building. The spacecraft was navigated by an Indian Shyam Bhaskaran ? the deep impact traveled 431 million kms in 172 days escaping from the earth orbit and intercepted the comet at a straight distance from earth at 134 million kms. The comet was orbiting around the Sun every five and half years. This is a land mark in space exploration.

This event is important to divert asteroids which may hit the earth in future. It is reported that one such large asteroid named "1950 AD" is expected to hit the earth on March 16, 2880 and nearly one third of the earth will be damaged. Like the "Deep Impact", a spacecraft carrying high energy weapons have to combat the asteroid.

Six Point Oath

1. I will pursue my education with dedication and I will excel in it.

2. I will plant at least 5 saplings and shall ensure their growth through constant care.

3. I will constantly endeavor to remove the pain of my suffering brethren.

4. I will work for becoming an enlightened citizen and make my family righteous.

5. I will always be a friend of the mentally and physically challenged and will work hard to make them feel normal, like the rest of us.

6. We the children of Karnataka promise that we will work hard with honesty to transform our State into a developed State. Happy and prosperous Karnataka will make happy and prosperous India.

COURAGE

Courage to think different,

Courage to invent,

Courage to discover the impossible,

Courage to combat the problems

And Succeed,

Are the unique qualities of the youth.

As a youth of my nation, I will work and work with courage to achieve success in all national development missions.

Question and Answer Session

1. What role should the 'Students' play in building 'India of your dream' by '2020'?

- A Student of Sai Shankar Educational Insitutions

Ans: Students should excel in their studies. During their spare time they can plant 5 trees and nurture it. They can also educate 5 people who cannot read and write during their holidays.

2. Many Scientists like to serve in other countries. How can this brain drain be stopped?

- Master Prithvi U.R., VIII Std.

Ans: India generates lakhs of scientists and engineers every year. Among them if 5 to 10% move away to different countries, I don?t think there is any problem. People who go abroad have their connectivity at home and with the educational institutions where they studied. This connectivity enriches us with their experience.

3. What improvements/changes do you think should be done in the school curriculum, especially with regard to teaching of science? - Master Pushyarag A.H., VII Std.

Ans: I would like to mention about the initiatives of National Council of Education Research & Training (NCERT), Ministry of Human Resource Development, which has resulted in the formulation of the National Curriculum Framework - 2005 which aims to :

(a) Connect knowledge to life outside the school

(b) Ensure that learning shifted away from rote learning methods

(d) Make examination more flexible, non threatening and integrated into classroom life.

4. Students are expected to be disciplined everytime but we see so much of indiscipline in the Parliament House in action why?

- Miss. Shishira Shastri, X Std.

Ans: We can see number of people who are disciplined and take their example for becoming disciplined. Also, I have been suggesting that students to change the behaviour of the parents if they deviate from the right path through the tool of life.

5. Who would you prefer

a) A person with wisdom? or

b) A person with knowledge? WHY?

- Master Dhamish Chengappa

Ans. I would prefer a Good Human being.

6. Has your life as a bachelor played any special role in your achievements?

- Miss Ksheera

Ans: We have to fix an aim. Work hard, if you encounter problems you have to face the problems and succeed. Problem should not be allowed to become our masters. We should become the master of the problem.

7. Now call centers are in a flow, to which youths are attracted for its lucrative salary. More and more youth are joining call center jobs leaving their streamline. Don't you think that this is short-circulating their ideas and is a hindrance to the progress of themselves as well as the nation?

- Miss Ashwith T.

Ans: In every job there is innovation. The individuals have to be innovative and creative. They will definitely make a breakthrough in that environment.

8. It is a nightmare for the humble and innocent people, to live in the society of corruption and terrorism. I think, there should be a solution to this problem when the educated and the responsible citizens themselves involve in such act, they should be punished for life. Who can put an end to this problem? When and how are we going to tackle it?

- Miss Prapthi Cariappa

Ans: I have answered this question while dealing with question no.4. Each household has a son or a daughter. If any member of the household deviates from the right path, the son or daughter should correct using the tool of love. This is the only way we can change the society.

9. It is presumed that water will be the most controversial issue in future throughout the world, what is your message for the people regarding this?

- Master Sawfan, X Std.

Ans: We have to conserve water through several methods. In Singapore I have seen no water is allowed to be wasted. Parallel to the natural cycle of water they have a complete recycling system. If every country follow this model, I do not think there will be shortage of water.

10. Physically handicapped pensions are given only to over the age of 16 years. The children studying in special schools and severally disabled children are neither eligible for scholarships or pensions. These children should also be included in the Social Security Schemes.

- Master Abdul Razak

Ans: Till the age of 16 normally the parents are supposed to look after their children. That is the reason pensions are given after the age of 16. However, in extreme cases where the parents cannot support a child the Government can consider grant of pension or scholarship below the age of 16.

11. It is said that children of today are future citizens but I am of view that the present education system has failed to produce good citizens. What is your opinion?

- Miss Parvathy, VIII Std

Ans: There is constant improvement in our present education sytem. I have indicated the improvement in the curriculum which is being implemented by NCERT.