For the last two or three days, Delhi has been experiencing a refreshing change from the murky politics of the Congress split — and the gloom and despondency of the present political scene — to the high excitement of man’s conquest of the moon eloquently brought back to memory by the American and Soviet space heroes who have come to attend the Federation Aeronautique Internationale conference. The President and the Prime Minister have honoured them on behalf of the people of India as pioneers and path-finders who have opened up new horizons in the exploration of the universe and in the process given a new dimension to the concept of brotherhood of man. The Lok Sabha to-day [November 23, New Delhi] gave a standing ovation — a rare gesture by a sovereign Parliament — to the two American astronauts, Neil Armstrong, the first man who set foot on the moon, and Charles Conrad, who led the second moon-landing mission, before the House paid homage to the memory of Noble Laureate, Dr. C.V. Raman. The two top-ranking Soviet cosmonauts, Boris Volinov and Yevgeny Khurnov, will be similarly honoured when they pay a visit to Parliament before leaving Delhi.
