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Journalism of Courage
Milkyway galaxy, planet Earth, Year 2000, date January 1, time 00.00 hrs.; the beginning of a new year…well…new year or a new millennium?
There is a whole lot of confusion among the masses as to when would the new millennium usher in, year 2000 or 2001? As far as the application of simple principles of Astronomy go, a new century always begins with the year ending 0001. The 20th century began in the year 1901 and hence the 21st would commence in the year 2001. Simple! Isn’t it?
But the confusion seems to have arised from the much talked about Y2K problem which would hit us at the midnight stroke announcing the year 2000. It is the inability of the computers to read the year correctly, as they are programmed to read the last digits as in `99′ only. The computers would be confused at the beginning of the year 2000 which would be read by them as `00.’ Much hype has been created by the hi-fi sounding term of the Y2K problem, giving rise to various doubts in the minds of the people as to the beginning of the new millennium.
It has been talked about so much that it seems as if the world would come crashing down at the 00.00 hrs of the year 2000. Since all hell would break loose, it would mean `the end’ of the 20th century! And good morning to the 21st! What a dramatic climax.
What do the calculations of our Indian system say? Here are the views of some local experts in the area. Pandit Sunder Lal affirms that according to the `Vikrami,’ the new century will begin in the year 2001 only“How can you proclaim the year 2000 as the beginning of the new millennium when it is the concluding year of the 100 years of the 20th century ?” Panditji reasoned.
To add to the drama, our prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajyapayee in an address to the nation very categorically said that we would be entering the `new millennium’ with the dawn of the year 2000.
Sadly, the new century begins after a looo….oong span of 100 years! So we lack people with experience in handling a problem of this nature. Every new century, and we have a set of new people dealing with it. Dealing and getting carried away with the raw problem in a sheer high!
Scientists the world over are busy handling the foreseen Y2K problem with the computers and the world busy wondering……2000, no..no….no….2001. But as Prof.D.K.Sehgal, a professor of Physics puts it, "It is a sheer drama of confusion. The new century would kick off at the midnight stroke of the last day of the year 2000.”
But wouldn’t that mean an end to the ecstasy to greet the new millennium at the end of this year? Oh….one more long year after the present one to go before we can call ourselves `People of the 21st century!’
“The mere mention of the year 2000 gives a feeling of a new century. I wonder why we can’t kick off with the next with the beginning of the year 2000 ?” wonders Rajiv Sinha, working with a private firm.
Sujata Verma, a student of Political Science, says she always thought that the next century would begin at the dawn of the year 2001. “How boring! I was expecting the 21st century to begin with the year 2000, and not 1999 !” she reacted strongly.
