When one feels inferior, one does things that keep one poor

As part of that mega-project, the Modi administration has just approved US$235 million (Bt7.6 billion) in funding to construct a giant underground observatory to study neutrinos, following in the footsteps of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN). The Geneva-based facility is an international collaboration and the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Its mission is to find and study the so-called God Particle, or Higgs boson, which may lead us back to the origin of our universe – or, as Stephen Hawking has warned, its destruction. It is also the birthplace of the World Wide Web. India has been involved with CERN since 1992 and is now seeking associate membership in this prestigious physics club.

One obvious question springs up here. Why would a country where nearly one-third of the population live in poverty, and problems of sanitation, public health, infrastructure and public corruption are staggering, want to ponder the mysteries of theoretical physics?

The answer might be found, interestingly enough, in the vision president John F Kennedy laid down at a special session of Congress on May 25, 1961, when he said that his country would send a man to the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of that decade. The timing of Kennedy’s bold and ambitious announcement was prompted by many political factors, including the Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union, which had stolen a march in the space race by successfully launching the first satellite, Sputnik I, into orbit in 1957. In his historic remarks to Congress, Kennedy stressed that such a lofty goal could only be met if it gained unwavering commitment from Washington, especially on massive long-term funding. But, as leader of the “free world” and pinnacle of democracy, the US had to pursue that goal, said Kennedy. Furthermore, only America possessed the technological and scientific expertise necessary to achieving it. The US, Kennedy declared, was the leader in space exploration. 

It hardly mattered that the Soviets won another battle in the space race when they sent cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961.  Kennedy’s brainchild, Project Apollo, scooped the prize in 1969 following an enormous investment of human and material resources. Only two modern endeavours are thought to have been comparable in scope – the construction of the Panama Canal and the Manhattan Project that produced the atomic bomb. 

When Neil Armstrong’s boot touched down on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, US national pride soared to unprecedented levels. For Americans, the evidence was clear – no feat was impossible if they set their minds to it. Once an underdog in the space race, the US had caught up and overtaken the Soviet Union. There was no question that America was a nation that could turn vision into reality. And despite moments of self-doubt, the “Yes we can” mentality still resonates there today.

Many nations have forgotten that an intangible factor like national pride can be an immense power that pulls the entire population out of despair, even when nothing else is going their way. 

There is no denying that millions in India are living in abject poverty. There is also no denying that India produces world-class mathematicians, engineers, economists, physicists and computer scientists. So if Prime Minister Modi harbours a vision of India as a world leader in theoretical physics, he is not out of his mind. Nor is he delusional in thinking that his nation can do what’s necessary to achieve it. In his attempt to gear the country towards this grand goal, he is trying to change the mindset of a nation full of problems – a losers’ mentality – into that of a nation richly endowed with real potential. There is no telling if he will succeed, or whether his government will be able to push through the spending plans necessary to fund this goal. It is also impossible to predict what material benefits this seemingly esoteric scientific knowledge might  bring to wider society, or if it will bring an “Ah ha” moment in national thinking. But, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, by showing his people “the stars”, Modi is pointing a way out of the gutter where they live. And what a gift he is giving them.

While Modi aims at turning India into a physics superpower, his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is focusing on the “Chinese Dream” of envisioned national rejuvenation, prosperity and a strengthened military. China’s youngsters must “dare to dream”, and work hard to fulfil that dream for national prosperity.

It’s fair to say that every person and every nation needs to have an inspiration, to possess a goal, and to have the belief and determination to pursue that goal in earnest. There exists a fine invisible line between defeat and victory, failure and success. It is a question of mind over matter. A life without inspiration, and a nation without pride or a higher vision or goal, where no pull factor is provided or found, is like a rudderless boat, driven by winds and waves, drifting steadily towards its doom.

The question for us all in Thailand is, do we really want to continue drifting?