top of page

By:

Akhilesh Sinha

25 June 2025 at 2:53:54 pm

India’s Rocket Woman

Chandrayaan-3 Mission Director Dr Ritu Karidhal Srivastava helped script a historic chapter in India’s space story. On August 23, 2023, as the clock struck 6:04 PM Indian time, waves of joy swept across India and the world when Chandrayaan-3's robotic lander Vikram touched down on the Moon's south pole. This triumph made India the first nation to land a spacecraft there and the fourth overall to reach the lunar surface. Behind this moment stood the dedication of scientists like Dr Ritu...

India’s Rocket Woman

Chandrayaan-3 Mission Director Dr Ritu Karidhal Srivastava helped script a historic chapter in India’s space story. On August 23, 2023, as the clock struck 6:04 PM Indian time, waves of joy swept across India and the world when Chandrayaan-3's robotic lander Vikram touched down on the Moon's south pole. This triumph made India the first nation to land a spacecraft there and the fourth overall to reach the lunar surface. Behind this moment stood the dedication of scientists like Dr Ritu Karidhal Srivastava, Chandrayaan-3’s mission director, affectionately known as India’s “Rocket Woman.” For millions watching, it was a moment of national pride; for the scientists behind the mission, the culmination of years of painstaking work and belief in India’s space ambitions. Dr Srivastava often placed professional commitments ahead of personal comforts, pouring her energy into India’s stellar legacy. Whether spearheading Chandrayaan-3, leading key aspects of Chandrayaan-2, or contributing to the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), she devoted herself to advancing India’s space programme. “From Mangalyaan to Chandrayaan, women have matched men stride for stride,” she has said, reflecting the growing presence of women scientists in India’s space missions. Over the years, women have moved from supporting roles to positions of leadership within ISRO, bringing expertise and determination to some of the nation’s most ambitious projects. Journey to the Stars Born in 1975 into a middle-class family in Lucknow, young Ritu was fascinated by the moon, stars and vast skies above. Her curiosity deepened during her school years, when she spent hours reading about space and imagining the mysteries beyond Earth. After earning her degree from Navayug Kanya Mahavidyalaya, she completed her MSc in physics in Lucknow before moving to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru to specialise in aerospace engineering. This path led her to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which she joined in 1997. At ISRO, she steadily rose through the ranks, earning recognition for meticulous planning and technical expertise. She served as Deputy Operations Director for the Mars Orbiter Mission, popularly known as Mangalyaan — India’s first mission to Mars, which succeeded on its first attempt and placed the country firmly on the global space map. Personal Sacrifices Her work’s success roared loudly. The ISRO Young Scientist Award from President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in 2007 and the Woman Aerospace Achievement Award from the Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries recognised her contributions to the nation’s space programme. Yet for years she worked largely away from the public spotlight, focused on the demands of complex missions. In a candid moment, Dr Srivastava spoke about balancing professional duty and family life. There were times when mission preparation meant missing important family moments. Once, when her daughter was running a fever, she could not leave work; her husband stepped in while she checked repeatedly by phone. School events and parent-teacher meetings often passed without her presence. Yet with strong support from her husband and family, she remained committed to the demanding world of space exploration. That collective resolve — from Dr Srivastava and her team — ultimately propelled India to new cosmic heights. Vikram’s flawless landing at the Moon’s south pole marked a technological triumph and firmly placed India among the world’s leading spacefaring nations.

From 'A Sam Shi' to 'use and throw', Uddhav and Shinde factions get creative in bitter war of words

  • PTI
  • Apr 6, 2025
  • 2 min read

Mumbai: The acrimonious fight between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has moved on to a phase of creativity in wordplay with abbreviations being used to lampoon each other.


Over the past few days, Uddhav Thackeray and his son and former minister Aaditya Thackeray have begun calling Shinde "A Sam Shi", which is the abbreviation of the deputy CM's full name Eknath Sambhaji Shinde.


Since the split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party in June 2022, the Thackeray faction has often used the terms "gaddar" (traitor) and "khoke" (alleging that crores changed hands to split the party) to mount stinging attacks on Shinde.


Shinde has hit back asking if UT, the abbreviation for Uddhav Thackeray, stood for "use and throw".


A party functionary said Uddhav Thackeray's fresh jibe at Shinde was aimed at the latter using Sena founder Bal Thackeray as the party mascot.


"He (Shinde) should use his father's name and form his own party rather than stake claim over Bal Thackeray's legacy and party," the functionary said.


Post the split, Shinde's faction got the Shiv Sena name and 'bow and arrow' symbol, while the one led by Thackeray was christened Shiv Sena (UBT) with its symbol being "mashaal" or flaming torch.


Another party leader said the Thackeray family has its own way to target its bitter opponents, be it former chief minister Narayan Rane or NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal.


Both were firebrand leaders who enjoyed immense confidence of Bal Thackeray.


But after they quit the party, Bal Thackeray gave them sarcastic monikers that have stuck for long time.


"It is the Thackeray family's way of telling their opponents that they are not worthy of being addressed respectfully by their full and proper names," the leader said.


Shinde has also often used the term "work from home" to lampoon Thackeray.


As chief minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022, Thackeray came under fire from the opposition as well as his allies for running the government from his Matoshri residence rather than Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai.

Comments

bottom of page