Overview

• Speaking at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Una, Himachal Pradesh, the BJP MP posed a question about the first space traveller during a National Space Day interaction.
• Students answered “Neil Armstrong,” and Anurag Thakur replied that he believed “Hanuman ji” was the first to travel in space while urging pupils to look beyond textbooks to India’s traditions.
• He later posted the clip on X with the caption, “Pawansut Hanuman Ji… the first astronaut,” drawing wide attention across news outlets.
• Coverage reiterated the established record that Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space in 1961, while Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the Moon in 1969.
• DMK MP Kanimozhi criticized the remark as conflating myth with science, and commentators cited India’s constitutional duty to promote scientific temper, noting heightened focus given recent Indian astronaut milestones.