“First of all, I am an Indian” With this answer, the President of the Indian Space Research Organization – Dr. Kailas Vadivu Sivan – won millions of hearts. He was asked by Sun TV interviewer as a Tamil, what he had to say to the people of Tamil Nadu, after getting such a great post.
“I joined ISRO as an Indian. ISRO is a place where people from all fields and languages work and contribute. But I am grateful to my brothers who celebrate me.
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People took to Twitter to show respect for presenting the first national identity.
“I am from Bihar, and I am proud of Dr. Sivan like every other Indian. It doesn’t affect me which State he belongs to, what religion he practices, or which language he speaks. For me, he is an honest, hard-working chairman of a world-renowned space agency. He is our national hero,” tweeted Akash Srivastava (@Aakashlive) an architect working in New Delhi, according to his profile.
Vani Chauhan (@Vani_Chauhan) tweeted, “‘First of all, I am an Indian.’ This statement from ISRO Chief K Sivan is something I wish every Indian thought. I see so many thumping their chests to claim superiority of their regional identity or ridiculing others & forget that without India, they will have no identity.”
While others questioned, why not?
“ISRO chief K Sivan’s “I am an Indian first” reply to a Tamil channel is stealing all hearts. But I have a question. When a PV Sindhu makes India proud, the people of her State highlight her regional identity. How do we reconcile this dichotomy? #SivanPrideOfIndia” tweeted Viswanath (@viswanath_vis) from Hyderabad.
He had taken twitter by the storm two days ago when he broke down, and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi consoled him just six hours after ISRO lost communication with the Vikram lander.
On 7 September the space agency lost communication with the lander just two minutes and 2.1 km from India and made history by becoming the first nation to land near the lunar south pole.
Dr. Sivan comes from a family of farmers from a remote village in Kanyakumari district. Despite his family’s modest means, he graduated from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1980 in aeronautical engineering.
He then did his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1982 and Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
Sivan joined ISRO in its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project in 1982. He has contributed immensely in the development of cryogenic engines for launch vehicles. GSLV Mark III, which launched the Chandrayaan 2 mission to space on 22 July, also relies on a third stage cryogenic engine to carry heavy payloads.
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