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Rakesh Sharma's 'Saare Jahan Se Achcha' message from Space


From Wiki entry for Rakesh Sharma

Insignia of Indo Soviet Mission
Rakesh Sharma, then squadron leader and pilot with the Indian Air Force embarked on the historic mission in 1984 as part of a joint space program between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Soviet Intercosmos space program and spent eight days in space aboard the Salyut 7 space station. Launched along with two other Soviet cosmonauts aboard Soyuz T-11 on the 2 April 1984, was 35-year-old Rakesh Sharma. During the flight, Squadron Leader Sharma conducted multi-spectral photography of northern India in anticipation of the construction of hydroelectric power stations in the Himalayas.
The trip made Rakesh Sharma the first Indian in Space but the event is also remembered for a conversation from space that he had with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She asked him, 'How does India look from Oopar?' He famous reply, borrowed from Allama Iqbal, was, ' Saare Jahan Se Achcha, (better than the whole world).'

Here's  the video of that famous conversation:

Comments

  1. Wonderful stuff Vinayak. I love coming back to your website every now and then just to find all these amazing things that we have forgotten over the years. Great way of archiving too!

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