India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

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ramana
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India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

Post by ramana »

Folks, I want to start a thread in Strat Forum that chronicles high-profile hit jobs in the technology sectors.
For example Dr. Homi Bhabha and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. The 2004-2013 Murders of scientists in BARC and ISRO.
The Nambi Narayananan fake spy case.
Want it to be a repository for educating MUTUs and newcomers.
We are a unique generation that heard and read about these hurdles and impediments and how India persevered and moved ahead despite these obstacles.

We need to document them for future generations' awareness.

One trigger for this thread is the recent movie by R. Madhavan called Rocketry on Nambi Narayanan's ordeal.



And this article:
With Rocketry I have done my duty says R. Madhavan after Cannes 2022 premiere
ramana
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Re: India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

Post by ramana »

Note how R. Madhavan points out how he became the director of this movie.
In Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, R Madhavan plays the role of Nambi Narayanan, an aerospace engineer, and a former Indian Space Research Organization scientist, who was accused of spying. Speaking to Variety, R Madhavan spoke about why he came on board as the director of Rocketry after the director associated with the project had to drop out at the last minute. He said, "At that point of time to get somebody to understand rocket science or liquid fuel engine or what rocketry is or what a specific impulse is, or what escape velocity is and how it has to be depicted, a ready director of that caliber in the industry was next to impossible. So the choices were to dump the film or take the plunge as a director.”
Do we think it's a coincidence that the director dropped out at the last minute?
ramana
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Re: India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

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Wiki article on Homi Bhabha

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homi_J._Bhabha
Nuclear power programme
Bhabha is generally acknowledged as the father of Indian nuclear power. Moreover, he is credited with formulating a strategy of focussing on extracting power from the country's vast thorium reserves rather than its meagre uranium reserves.[13][14] This thorium focused strategy was in marked contrast to all other countries in the world. The approach proposed by Bhabha to achieve this strategic objective became India's three stage nuclear power programme.

Bhabha paraphrased the three-stage approach as follows:
The total reserves of thorium in India amount to over 500,000 tons in the readily extractable form, while the known reserves of uranium are less than a tenth of this. The aim of long range atomic power programme in India must therefore be to base the nuclear power generation as soon as possible on thorium rather than uranium... The first generation of atomic power stations based on natural uranium can only be used to start off an atomic power programme... The plutonium produced by the first generation power stations can be used in a second generation of power stations designed to produce electric power and convert thorium into U-233, or depleted uranium into more plutonium with breeding gain... The second generation of power stations may be regarded as an intermediate step for the breeder power stations of the third generation all of which would produce more U-238 than they burn in the course of producing power.[15]

Death
Bhabha died when Air India Flight 101 crashed near Mont Blanc on 24 January 1966.[16] Misunderstanding between Geneva Airport and the pilot about the aircraft position near the mountain is the official reason of the crash.[17]

Assassination theories
Many possible theories have been advanced for the air crash, including a claim the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in order to paralyse India's nuclear program.[18] An Indian diplomatic bag containing calendars and a personal letter was recovered near the crash site in 2012.[19][20]

Gregory Douglas, a journalist who conducted telephone conversations with former CIA operative Robert Crowley for four years, published a book called Conversations with the Crow. Douglas claims that Crowley implied the CIA was responsible for assassinating Homi Bhabha.[21] Crowley reportedly said that a bomb in the cargo section of the plane exploded mid-air, bringing down the commercial Boeing 707 airliner in Alps with few traces, describing it as "an unfortunate accident".[22][23]

Legacy


After his death, the Atomic Energy Establishment at Mumbai was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour. In addition to being an able scientist and administrator, Bhabha was also a painter and a classical music and opera enthusiast, besides being an amateur botanist.[citation needed] He is one of the most prominent scientists that India has ever had. Bhabha also encouraged research in electronics, space science, radio astronomy and microbiology.[citation needed]



The famed radio telescope in Ooty, India was his initiative, and it became a reality in 1970. The Homi Bhabha Fellowship Council has been giving Homi Bhabha Fellowships since 1967. Other noted institutions in his name are the Homi Bhabha National Institute, an Indian deemed university and the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai, India.

At Bhabha's death, his estate including Mehrangir, the sprawling colonial bungalow at Malabar Hill where he spent most of his life, was inherited by his brother Jamshed Bhabha. Jamshed, an avid patron of arts and culture, bequeathed the bungalow and its contents to the National Centre for the Performing Arts, which auctioned the property for Rs 372 crores in 2014 to raise funds for upkeep and development of the centre. The bungalow was demolished in June 2016 by the owner, Smita-Crishna Godrej of the Godrej family, despite some efforts to have it preserved as a memorial to Homi Bhabha.[24][25]
ramana
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Re: India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

Post by ramana »

Wiki on Vikram Sarabhai

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikram_Sarabhai

Known as the cradle of space sciences in India, the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) was founded in 1947 by Vikram Sarabhai.[8] PRL had a modest beginning at his residence, the "RETREAT", with research on cosmic rays. The institute was formally established at the M.G. Science Institute, Ahmedabad, on 11 November 1947[9] with support from the Karmkshetra Educational Foundation and the Ahmedabad Education Society. Prof. Kalpathi Ramakrishna Ramanathan was the first Director of the institute. The initial focus was research on cosmic rays and the properties of the upper atmosphere. Research areas were expanded to include theoretical physics and radio physics later with grants from the Atomic Energy Commission. He led the Sarabhai family-owned business conglomerate. His interests varied from science to sports to statistics. He set up the Operations Research Group (ORG), the first market research organization in the country. Most notable among the many institutes he helped set up are the Nehru Foundation for Development in Ahmedabad, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), the Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA) and the (CEPT). Along with his wife Mrinalini Sarabhai, he founded the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts. Other projects and institutions initiated or established by him include the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) in Kalpakkam, Variable Energy Cyclotron Project in Calcutta, Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) in Hyderabad and Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in Jaduguda, Jharkhand. Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian satellite. As a result, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian cosmodrome.[8] He was the founder of Indian Space Research Organisation.

Death
On 30 December 1971, Sarabhai was to review the SLV design before his departure for Bombay the same night. He had spoken to A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on the telephone. Within an hour of the conversation, Sarabhai died at the age of 52 due to cardiac arrest in Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram). His body was cremated in Ahmedabad.
Manish_P
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Re: India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

Post by Manish_P »

Cross posting from the 'Intelligence & National Security Discussion - July 2018' thread

(Hope this is correct for this thread)
Manish_P wrote:Straight from the man himself

ISRO scientist Tapan Mishra tells his story about his being poisoned.. among other things (which are very fascinating to say the least)

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Re: India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

Post by Manish_P »

A text version of the above (but different source)

Mumbai Mirror - Senior Indian space scientist alleges he was poisoned with a a deadly chemical at ISRO headquarters in 2017
Senior Indian space scientist alleges he was poisoned with a deadly chemical at ISRO headquarters in 2017. Tapan Misra on Tuesday has alleged that he was poisoned with a deadly chemical on May 23, 2017 at the headquarters of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) when he had gone there to attend a promotion interview.

"I have come out in public as I fear for my life post retirement. I am retiring this month," Misra, Senior Advisor at ISRO, told IANS.

Two former space agency chiefs could not be reached for a response, while one declined to comment on the allegations.

In a Facebook post, Misra wrote: "We, in ISRO, occasionally heard about highly suspicious death of Prof. Vikram Sarabhai in 1971. Also heard occasional doubts about sudden death of Dr. S Srinivasan, Director of VSSC (Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre) in 1999. Case of Shri Nambinarayanan in 1994 is well known. But I never thought that I will be at the receiving end of such mystery."

"I was poisoned with deadly Arsenic Trioxide on 23rd May 2017, during promotion interview from Sci/Eng SF to SG in ISRO HQ at Bangalore. Fatal dose was probably mixed with chutney along with Dosai, in snacks after lunch." "What followed was nightmare lasting for almost two years...Severe loss of blood to the tune of 30-40 per cent through anal bleeding. I barely could come back from Bangalore and was rushed to Zydus Cadila hospital in Ahmedabad," Misra said. "It was followed by severe breathing difficulty, unusual skin eruptions and skin shedding, loss of nails on feet and hands, terrible neurological issues due to hypoxia, skeletal pain, unusual sensations, one suspected heart attack and arsenic depositions and fungal infections on every inch of skin and internal organs," he added.

According to Misra, treatment was received in Zydus Cadilla, TMH-Mumbai and AIIMS-Delhi over a period of two years. "Famed forensic specialist, Dr. Sudhir Gupta told me that in his whole career, for the first time he was seeing a live specimen of a survivor of assassination attempt with fatal dose of assassination grade molecular As2O3. Otherwise his experience was limited to cadavers," Misra said.
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Re: India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

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Cross post - https://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3732&start=4560#p1522703

Original Post by PratikDas


ToI: Nuclear submarine engineer found dead on railway tracks in Visakhapatnam
Oct 7, 2013, 03.48 AM IST
VISAKHAPATNAM: Bodies of two defence personnel were found under suspicious circumstances on the railway tracks falling under Pendurty railway station (PRS) limits of East Coast Railways (ECoR) here on Sunday morning.

On being informed by railway trackmen, Government Railway Police (GRP) at Visakhapatnam railway station immediately reached the spot. Following enquiries, one of the deceased was identified as KK Josh, 34, chief engine room artificer (CERA) at Shipbuilding Centre, a unit of ministry of defence at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) premises here. The other was identified as Abhish Shivam, 33, a chief engineer working at INS Arihant, India's first nuclear-powered submarine.

While Josh, a resident of Kakani Nagar near the airport, was a native of Kozhikode, Shivam belonged to Ernakulam district in Kerala and was living at the Navy quarters at Dolphins Hills. Both of them were posted in the city three years ago.

The GRP team along with a dog squad and fingerprint team scouted the area around the tracks and collected clues. While GRP cops maintained that a case was registered and awaiting the postmortem report from King George Hospital, relatives of the deceased and the leaders of Kerala Kala Samiti (KKS) alleged that the deaths appeared to be under suspicious circumstances and demanded that the police immediately launch a high-scale probe into the incident.

GRP circle inspector A Parthasaradhi told TOI that they had not seen any suspicious marks on the bodies of the two near the railway tracks. "As on Sunday, we filed a case and sent the bodies for postmortem at KGH. We have to wait for the report before making any statement," Parthasaradhi said.

Relatives and locals, however, raised suspicion over the incident, pointing out that there were no visible injuries on the bodies to show that they had come under a passing train. Suspicion was also raised that the two had been attacked elsewhere and their bodies thrown near the tracks.

GRP officials said there were no suspicious marks on the bodies. But the victims' kin said there were no visible injuries to show they had been run over by a train.
ramana
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Re: India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

Post by ramana »

Thanks. Exactly what I was looking for.
Manish_P
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Re: India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

Post by Manish_P »

Re the BARC

NDTV - October 08, 2015 - 11 Indian Nuclear Scientists Died Unnatural Deaths in 4 Years: Government
11 nuclear scientists had unnatural deaths during a four year period from 2009-13 in the country, as per the latest data provided by Department of Atomic Energy. Out of them, eight scientists and engineers working in laboratories and research centres of the Department died in a blast or by hanging or drowning in the sea.

...
Hindustan Times - Oct 10, 2015 - Questions raised over nuclear scientists’ suicide data
The department of atomic energy appears to be underreporting unnatural deaths of its employees as data show a substantial number of staff suicides at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai over six years since 2008.

The DAE, the nation’s nuclear energy development regulator, said in a recent affidavit filed in Bombay high court that only three BARC employees committed suicide between 1995 and 2014. The affidavit said the death rate from suicides in the premier nuclear research organisation was much less than the national average. The statement was in response to a petition demanding special investigation into unnatural deaths of nuclear scientists in India.But a DAE confidential note pegged the number of suicides of BARC employees between 2008 and 2013 at 11. This note on unnatural deaths of its staff members was sent to the prime minister’s office in December 2013.
Sunday Guardian - December 4, 2016 - Atomic energy department saw 70 unnatural deaths in eight years
At least 70 people, including scientists and engineers working with the various establishments and research laboratories of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) have died due to unnatural causes in the last eight years.

This has been revealed through a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by The Sunday Guardian with the DAE. The DAE is the nodal government body to work in the development of nuclear power technology, applications of radiation technologies in the fields of defence, agriculture, medicine, industry and basic research. DAE comprises five research centres, three industrial organisations, five public sector undertakings and three service organisations.

Out of these, 13 organisations replied to the RTI query. Of these, eight establishments said that their employees had died. The maximum number of deaths were of officials belonging to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, 38; Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research, 15; and Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, 12. The other five deaths took place in various other organisations belonging to the DAE.

...
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Re: India's March Despite Foreign Hurdles/Obstacles

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An more exhaustive article covering mysterious incidents relating to Indian nuclear scientists.

I don't know much about this site as such... reproducing here purely for the data/info

The Strange Disappearance of India’s Nuclear Scientists
The strange disappearance of India’s nuclear scientists and engineers under mysterious circumstances has raised many questions on the Indian government, police, and officials. Some conspiracy theorists claimed that there was a bigger conspiracy behind all this. Some said that the American intelligence agency CIA is behind these incidents, some pointed towards Pakistan’s ISI, according to them these powers want to destroy India’s nuclear program so that India never becomes a nuclear power. And the most important question is, Why Indian media suppressed this news?

In this article, we have discussed how Indian nuclear scientists strangely disappeared one by one, all of them were linked by a common thread “nuclear energy” in some way nuclear weapons.


Contents
1 Mont Blanc’s peak in the Swiss Alps
2 Kaiga Atomic Power Station
2.1 L. Mahalingam, a 47-year-old senior nuclear scientific officer
2.2 An employee under mysterious circumstances
3 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre’s (BARC)
3.1 Two young researchers, Umang Singh and Partha Pratim Bag
3.2 A former scientist and former head of the Indian Women Scientists’ Association
3.3 Mahadevan Padmanabhan Iyer, a 48-year-old mechanical engineer
3.4 Nuclear scientist Mohammed Mustafa
4 India’s first nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant
5 PIL filed by RTI activist Chetan Kothari
6 Other RTI inquiry
7 According to the Indian government
8 Conclusion
9 Sources

....
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