From the Tropics to the South Pole: India’s Success Story
By
Dr Rasik Ravindra
Former Director,
National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR)
India's early involvement with Antarctica, including its recognition of the continent as a "common heritage of mankind" and its attainment of the Consultative Status after commissioning its first permanent research station, Dakshin Gangotri, in 1983, is explored in this article. The debate over who was the first Indian to set foot on Antarctica is also revisited before detailing the experiences of the first Indian Army Expedition and the first scientific expedition to the icy continent.
India, then considered a leader of the developing countries (group of 77), was a pioneer in considering Antarctica as a ‘common heritage of mankind’. It was critical of closed-door activities of ‘Antarctic Club Nations,’ and had even tried to raise the issue in United Nations General Assembly. Reinhold remarks in his report that “the common heritage approach emerged in the protracted Law of the sea deliberations, and the United States and other Antarctic powers are eager to prevent its application to Antarctica…” (New York Times,1982). India’s entry into the Antarctic fold was therefore welcomed by the Antarctic Treaty Nations with open arms and it was accorded a Consultative Status as soon as it commissioned its first permanent Research Station-Dakshin Gangotri in Antarctic in 1983.
The First Indian to land in Antarctica
There are several versions and claims about who the first ever Indian was to visit the Antarctica. Several conflicting claims are making the rounds on social media. Three names prominently vie for this coveted honour. These are: Dr Paramjit Singh Sehra - a meteorologist with Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Dr Giri Raaj Singh Sirohi- a noted plant physiologist and Lieutenant Ram Charan of the Indian Navy. Some posts even show Col J K Bajaj to be the first Indian on the South Pole, even when two previous Indians are known to have visited the Pole decades earlier.
In some literature, as also in some online articles, Dr Paramjit Singh Sehra has been stated to be the first Indian to visit Antarctica. The available records reveal that he volunteered to join the 17th Soviet Expedition to Antarctica (1971-73) under a collaborative programme of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), to study the meteorological research being undertaken by the Soviets in Antarctica.
Dr Param Jit Singh Sehra
Some statements claim that “Sehra eventually became the first Indian to visit the South Pole …”. However, Dr Giri Raj Singh Sirohi on record is reported to have spent about a year in Antarctica in 1960-61, at least a decade before Sehra ventured to Antarctica (New York Times,1982). Out of his yearlong sojourn in Antarctica, Dr Sirohi spent four months at the South Pole. He collected data on the biological clock at the South Pole and studied the effect of rotation of the Earth on plants. The United States Board on Geographic Names has designated a feature located near Broadmoor Glacier as ‘Sirohi Point’ in his honour. In 2003, he was presented with a Lifetime Award for his scientific contributions by the Indian Society for Plant Physiology. The award was presented to him by Dr APJ Kalam, the then President of India.
Dr Giri Raj Singh Sirohi
Lieutenant Ram Charan, a meteorologist with the Indian Navy also is reported to have visited Antarctica in 1960 as a member of the Australian Expedition. Unfortunately, there is not much information available about him or his work as he passed away soon after his visit to Antarctica in a road accident in 1961 at a very young age. He travelled with an Australian Expedition as an Indian Observer but did not visit the South Pole. The Australian Antarctic Division, Hobart, Tasmania, when requested, made following Report available as regards to his participation:
Lt Ram Charan
Indian Army in the South Pole
A story carried by web post Indiatoday.in states that “Colonel J.K. Bajaj, Principal of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi has just become the first Indian to reach the South Pole at 0 degree latitude in Antarctica. …..He was part of the 11-member international expedition which skied over 1,200 km in 50 days in numbing temperatures”. Col Bajaj quips, "Robert Scott (the first man to reach the South Pole) was destined to reach there and I was determined to.” Col Bajaj also went to Antarctica during the Fourth Indian expedition (1984-85) and tried to reach the interior of Antarctica from Dakshin Gangotri Station, using snow vehicles but blizzards made the trip impossible.
In 2010, an eight-member Indian Army team, under the leadership of 44-year-old Colonel Anand Swaroop skied for 1,170 km in the icy continent for 50 days to reach the South Pole on January 15, 2011. Starting from the coast of Antarctica, the team skied for almost 10 hours every day, braving cold winds, snow storms and extreme temperatures in the range of -15 to -40°C . "We wanted to start early so that we could reach the South Pole on Army Day but due to bad weather, we had to delay the expedition by 12 days and started it only on November 24, 2010. The expedition took the 'Hercules Inlet route' which involved skiing for a distance of 1,170 km from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole. We pulled sledges that contained supplies like food, tents and other material that would last us for approximately two months till we reached the South Pole," says Col Anand, who led the team. Other members of the team included Captain R Balakarthik, Lance Naik Khilat Singh, Lance Naik Arjun Kumar Thapa, Lance Naik Parsuram Gurung, Rifleman Tsewang, Rifleman Ram Singh and Rifleman Shaukat Ahmed Mura. The team spent about a month in Greenland from August 29 to September 28, 2010 to acclimatise with the sub-zero temperatures of Antarctica. Lance Naik Arjun Kumar Thapa, a trained mountaineer had already scaled Mount Everest early.
Indian Army Team en route to South Pole
Two Indian twins-Tashi and Nungshi Malik, daughters of a retired army officer, are also reported to have achieved the feat in 2010 when they reached the South Pole. The details about their journey are, however, not available.
It is an interesting coincidence that the same year when the Army was planning its expedition to the South Pole, another Ministry of the Government of India, Ministry of Earth Sciences, too announced launching of a scientific expedition to the South Pole. Possibly the two did not know about each other’s initiatives.
First Indian Scientific Expedition to South Pole
The Hindu in its dispatch dated November 2 announced “First Indian scientific expedition to South Pole takes off” (The Hindu, 2010). It further added “the scientific establishment is all set to add one more feather to its cap with the Union Science and Technology Minister Sh. Prithviraj Chavan launched the first Indian scientific expedition to the magical South Pole on Monday evening.
An eight-member team led by the Director of National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Dr Rasik Ravindra, is to leave ‘Maitri,' the Indian station on Antarctica, for the South Pole on November 8 and return by the middle of December”. In a rare gesture, the launching of the Expedition was done simultaneously from New Delhi by the Minister and from Goa, where the team was present, by the Governor of Goa Shri S. S. Sandhu. The team, however, could leave Maitri only on November 13 and hosted the Tricolour at the Pole on November 23, 2010, a day before the Army Team started its journey to the South Pole. This was the first official Indian Expedition and it kick started the international celebration of the centenary of Scott and Amundsen’s historical race to South Pole.
The Members of First Indian Scientific Expedition
Mention must also be made of the lone Indian lady who made it to South Pole-Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu, a lady mountaineer- married to Love Raj Singh Dharmshaktu who is credited with reaching the summit of Mount Everest five times (Times of India, 2010).
The Indian Expeditions
The successful landing of First scientific Expedition to Antarctica on the ice shelf with Dr Syed Zahoor Qasim as the leader, and Shri C P Vohra and Dr H N Siddiqui as two Deputy Leaders laid the foundation of a success story that continues to inspire and motivate scientists even after four decades of the historical event. In the initial years, the expeditions were monitored by a specially created Department of Ocean Development under the Prime Minister itself with Dr Qasim as the Secretary. Mrs Gandhi used to take immense interest in activities of the expeditions and interact with Leaders of the Expeditions herself. The tradition continued uninterruptedly for many years and expedition members used to be invited at the residence of Prime Minister after their return from Antarctica for a “debriefing ceremony”.
References
Kabir Taneja (2016) Mint, When Indira Gandhi’s India “invaded” Antarctica, Mint on Sunday
Robert Reinhold (1982), New York Times
Times of India (2010) Delhi girl becomes first Indian woman to ski to South Pole.
The Hindus (2010) First Indian Expedition to South Pole takes off:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/First-Indian-scientific-expedition-to-South-Pole-takes- off/article15672336.ece
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