[ABHI_1512]

Today’s newspaper brought a fantastic landmark to the fore. December marks exactly 40 years since India became a permanent resident of Antarctica. That India became a permanent resident of Antarctica was known already, what I didn’t know was the connection between Panaji post office and the polar base.

The tricolour was unfurled in Antarctica in January 1982 but India did not have a permanent base there till its third expedition arrived in December 1983 and set up buildings where scientists could live year-round

India’s first mission to Antarctica in December 1981 was conceived in secrecy and the 21 crew members weren’t allowed to talk about it even with their families. Amitava Sengupta, one of the youngest members of that mission, recalls that the air of strict confidentiality before departure made them feel like they were in “a James Bond movie”

Freezing Antarctica and Sunny Goa could not be more different, but they are united by a PIN code. All letters to Maitri, India’s current base in Antarctica, are addressed to the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research at Vasco, Goa’s port town, with the pin code 403001, which refers to the head post office in the state capital Panaji. NCPOR then hands them over to a researcher travelling to Maitri.

The fascinating story of how India charted its own course to Antarctica is indeed an inspiring one. The team members crossed many a hurdles before they finally embarked on and completed the expedition. Justifiably, they thought that they were returning from the moon !!

Sharing the link of the article here, it’s a delightful read.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../105848037.cms

[V.Narayan]

A half century from now this first milestone will be viewed as an outstanding example of thinking not for the next election but for 3 generations later. Antarctica was the bastion of the West, USSR and Argentina. One day it will be the hunting ground of mineral hunters {the Green in me shrinks at this thought}. This was our way to be counted in the comity of nations where decisions on Antarctica go. If you do not have a permanent base there no one wants to hear your view no matter how sane. Some nations such as Australia, Argentina, Chile, NZ in the Southern hemisphere have staked out massive claims over Antarctic territory with impunity as if this continent belongs to them. Worse still countries in the Northern hemisphere, tens of thousands of kms away have done so too - the guilty are UK, France and Norway. In a dubious attempt to provide legitimacy to each other's illegitimate claims UK, Australia, France, Norway and NZ "recognized" each other's claims. With this background Mrs. Indira Gandhi gave the go ahead for this first step of a 1000-mile journey. Today we are one of the 29 signatories to the Antarctic Treaty and our permanent research station there gives us the right to participate in the decision making for Antarctic's future.

Jai Hind.