India’s Mars Mission Peeves Top Western Media Outlets

News headlines, like ‘India Mars Mission Amidst Overwhelming Poverty,’ ‘Is India’s Mars mission the latest escalation in Asia’s space race?’ etc., are hogging Western electronic and print media in a bid to discredit India’s spectacular achievement by creating a false debate.

To pan India’s spectacular scientific feat, sections in Western media like the CNN and The Economist have predictably raised dubious ethical questions on whether “poor countries” should indulge in space explorations and whether India has provoked an Asian “space race.” However, Indians understand full well that this response is the true acknowledgement of its growing status on the world stage and is far better than a condescending praise. In her article titled ‘India’s Mars mission Could be a Giant Leap’ published in the Guardian, Priyamvada Gopal argues that space exploration should not be the preserve of the rich West and has presented a more balanced view.

We welcome your comments on the debate.

To read the full article, please visit http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/24/india-mars-mission-poverty-space-exploration