Shukla's space sojourn marks beginning of new era for India: PM

THE 'Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogan reverberated on the International Space Station as Prime Minister Narendra Modi told astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla that his space travel marked the beginning of a new era and was the first step towards Mission Gaganyaan, India's own human spaceflight project.

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"Shubhanshu, today you are the farthest from the land of India, but the closest to the hearts of every Indian,” the prime minister told Shukla in an interaction through a video link from the International Space Station, which is orbiting the earth at an altitude of 400 km.

Modi said Shukla's name carries the word 'shubh’ (auspicious), and that his journey marked the auspicious beginning of a new era.

‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ chant filled up the space station as the prime minister raised the slogan towards the end of the 18-minute conversation, which was reciprocated by Shukla.

Shukla told the prime minister that his space sojourn was "not my journey alone but also our country's", and that he was absorbing these "new experiences like a sponge".