Grovel & Cricket: The word that carries the weight of history.

 

  

 Grovel & Cricket: The word that carries the weight of history.

Now that the heat on the comprehensive drubbing (2-0) that South African team gave to the over hyped Indian team in the Test series, I am tempted to write on the infamous word “Grovel” that hogged headlines and its history with a racial undercurrent. It all started with what the South African coach Conrad, said during the press conference after the end of the fourth day of the second test. He said “…. we wanted them (Indians) to really grovel”.  This word and its use in the context of the match resurrected not merely a controversial word, but a racial shadow that South Africa once fought so hard to escape, isolation / ban from international cricket.

For India—a nation that had helped South Africa return to cricketing legitimacy— “grovel” felt like an unnecessarily abrasive turn of phrase, especially coming after a First-Test defeat and a looming loss in the second. Language carries memory, and this word (grovel) of all words, could have been avoided by the South African coach. To highlight my thoughts, as a science communicator, I am reminded of the legendary scientist, James Watson, who died on 7 November, at the age of 97.

Watson’s example serves as a reminder of a paradox that repeats itself across history: brilliant minds and sporting arena are not immune to human frailties. Watson, one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA for which he shared the coveted Nobel Prize in Medicine and a towering figure in molecular biology, helped set in motion scientific revolutions that continue to shape medicine, genetics, and our understanding of life itself.

Watson championed the Human Genome Project and pushed for greater scientific attention to mental health - partly because of his own son’s struggle with psychiatric illness. Yet, all of this and his monumental contributions to science and humanity could not insulate him from the consequences of his own words. His repeated claims that Black people have inherently lower intelligence led to his downfall. The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory—an institution he nurtured into global prominence— revoked the honours it had once bestowed. In his death, Watson did not receive the accolades which he so richly deserved.

Watson’s “fall from grace” is not an isolated tale but a reminder that racism pervades in subtle and overt ways, sometimes in the corridors of science and sometimes on the sporting field. And this brings us to the word “grovel” used by South African Coach, Shukri Conrad that has hogged media headline. This word has a history.

In 1976, during England’s tour of the West Indies, English captain Tony Greig declared that he intended to make the West Indians “grovel.” For a generation of Caribbean people whose parents and grandparents had struggled against the legacy of slavery and colonial domination, this was not just a sporting provocation. It was a racial insult. To “grovel” implied submission, abasement, a return to the humiliations of the past. The backlash was swift, and Greig himself later admitted that he had underestimated the racial implications of his words. But then the West Indies Cricket team paid back in-kind defeating Grieg’s English team 3-0 in the test series.

This word grovel was back again in news reminding its history, power, and pain in the second India-South Africa Test match, which the Indians lost comprehensively.

South Africa should have known the history and context of the word “grovel”, more viscerally than others, more so since South Africa was banished from international cricket, for over two decades due to apartheid—a system built explicitly on racial hierarchy - an undertone for the word grovel. Speaking of South Africa’s isolation from the world, I am reminded of my first passport (obtained in 1987), which clearly mentioned “this passport is valid for travel to ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA”.

It was India that extended the warmest hand of friendship and welcome to South Africa, when the time finally came for South Africa’s reintegration into the cricketing world in 1991-92. While developing a “Cricket Connects: India South Africa” exhibition, one of the most important sections of the exhibition was the reintegration of South Africa. This exhibition, which was developed to mark the India South Africa cultural relations in 2015, was curated and developed by the Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai and was presented in Johannesburg and Durban to a very appreciative crowd, I vividly remember presenting the exhibition catalogue, which accompanied the exhibition, to Sachin Tendulkar during the opening of Deconstructed Innings A tribute to Sachin Tendulkar that was presented at NGMA, Mumbai when I headed this institution.    

In November 1991, India hosted South Africa’s maiden historic return to international cricket. The reception in Kolkata at the inaugural one day international (ODI) match of the 3-match series, remains legendary. The packed Eden Gardens – more than 90000 spectators- roared not just for cricket match (ODI), which India won, but also for South Africa, a nation re-entering world cricket after a long spell of pariah status under apartheid. The South African team received a memorable reception including an opportunity to met Mother Teresa. Indian crowds cheered Allan Donald and Kepler Wessels as if they were their own. Their return to international cricket was celebrated by Indians as a symbol of friendship, solidarity, and an extraordinary act of goodwill by the hosts. It must be recalled that India had stood firmly against apartheid.

India further strengthened this relationship when it became the first country to tour South Africa in 1992 for a full series and Nelson Mandela personally welcomed the Indian team. Cricket became a bridge between two nations that had shared moral positions against racism and discrimination.

“Grovel” makes the present moment deeply ironic.

In the context of the second test match, South Africa coach, Shukri Conrad said that his team batted as long as they did in their second innings, because "we wanted them to really grovel”.  This phrase by Conrad, resurrected not merely a controversial word, but a racial shadow his own country had once fought so hard to escape. For India—a nation that had helped South Africa return to cricketing legitimacy—it felt like an unnecessarily abrasive turn of phrase, especially coming after a first-Test defeat and a looming loss in the second. Language carries memory, and this word, of all words, should have been avoided by a South African coach.

Racism mutates; it does not disappear

This is where the Watson story mirrors the cricket controversy. Watson was not a man unaware of the implications of his language; he was at the pinnacle of scientific achievement. Yet he repeated ideas long discredited by genetics itself. In cricket too, the people involved are no longer colonial administrators or imperial-era players. They are part of a global, multicultural, interdependent sport. But racism—even when unintended—slips through in choice of words, in unconscious bias, in language inherited without reflection.

We often imagine racism to be a loud, explicit act. More often, it is a careless phrase, a historical insult casually revived, or a stereotype uttered without thought. The Watson episode teaches us that no amount of brilliance or success inoculates a person against prejudice. And cricket teaches us that institutions with painful racial histories can sometimes forget their own lessons.

India, in the last few decades, has experienced a transformation in cricketing power, confidence, and global influence. From hosting South Africa’s re-entry into international cricket, we now dominate the commercial and sporting landscape of the game. But this does not make the country—or its players—immune to racial slights or coded insults. What the “grovel” remark underscores is that international sport is not insulated from past trauma. Words can reopen wounds. They can destabilise cricket’s attempts to transcend its colonial past. They can damage the very spirit of the game that brought nations together after decades of segregation. And yet, the appropriate response for such unpleasant situations is not anger alone. It is to remind the world of history. It is to assert that cricket today operates in a moral universe shaped by the struggle against racism, one in which every stakeholder must exercise responsibility, in the true spirit of the game, befittingly called Gentleman’s Game.

ISRO’s LVM3-M5 Successfully Positions CMS-03 Satellite in its Intended Trajectory

 

Yesterday evening, even as the temptation to watch the Women’s Cricket World Cup Final match played between the host country India and South Africa at the DY Patil Sports stadium in Mumbai, I had to make a choice between watching the cricket match and the ISRO Launch. The Indian team was put in to bat, after losing the toss, by South Africa, and they began their innings with a bang with a century opening partnership. However, notwithstanding the temptation to continue to watch Cricket, I chose to watch the live launch of the ISRO LVM3-M5.

I was one among millions of Indians, watching live, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launch its advanced communication satellite CMS-03 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. With the count of zero the Bahubali heavy lift rocket, LVM3-M5 (5th operational flight LVM3-M5) rose to the sky spewing plumes of controlled fire and smoke to the cheers of audience, including school children, who had assembled in large numbers at the launch station at Sriharikota. LVM3-M5 carried on board CMS-03 (also referred to as GSAT-7R) communication satellite, weighing 4410kg, the heaviest communication satellite from the Indian soil, which was successfully launched and placed in an intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The GSAT-7R is a multi-band communication satellite that will provide services to our Indian Navy over a wide oceanic region, including the Indian landmass.

The Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), fondly called “Bahubali,” is India’s most powerful rocket. It stands more than 40 metres tall and weighs close to 640 tonnes at liftoff — roughly the mass of a fully loaded jumbo jet. It is noteworthy to recall that in the previous mission, LVM3 had successfully completed the prestigious Chandrayaan-3 mission, where in, India became the first country to soft land its Vikram Lander and Pragya Rower, near the lunar south pole.

I had doubts whether the launch date will be rescheduled in wake of the aftermath of Cyclone Montha, which had made landfall near Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, around October 28-29, 2025. I was therefore, not sure if the weather was suitable for the ISRO launch. But fortunately, ISRO kept their schedule and the rest is now history. ISRO Chairman, in his post successful launch address to the nation and his team, did speak about their apprehension on the aftermath of the Cyclone, which they carefully examined and decided to go ahead with the launch. The success therefore becomes that much more important that it endeared challenges to place GSAT-7R into its intended transfer orbit.

From the Indian context, historically, satellites above 4 tonnes required foreign launches; However, yesterday the LVM3-M5 demonstrated its capacity to reduce India’s dependence on external launch markets. This success will accentuate India’s sovereign capacity to develop complex communications infrastructure for civil and defence purpose. ISRO’s public mission statement and contemporaneous reporting emphasise that CMS-03 is the heaviest communication satellite yet launched to GTO from India, and that this mission strengthens both maritime and national communications. 

The LVM 3 is a three stages rocket with three types of propulsion. It is a compact demonstration of propulsion diversity: two very large solid strap-on boosters (S200), a liquid-fuelled core (L110) and a cryogenic upper stage (C25) powered by the CE-20 engine. Each stage solves a different engineering problem. The S200 strapons (first stage boosters) are massive solid motors — among the largest in the world — carrying ~200 tonnes of composite solid propellant each delivering an enormous initial thrust pulse to clear dense atmosphere and quickly gain altitude and momentum. The two S200s ignited at lift off and burnt for roughly two minutes before separation. The second stage included the L110 liquid core, which is a liquid stage built around twin Vikas engines burning storable hypergolic propellants and nitrogen tetroxide variants in various configurations. The L110 provides throttleable thrust and control during the trans-atmospheric portion of flight; its ignition is timed to complement the S200 burn so that the vehicle enjoys continuous thrust as the boosters drop away. The third stage of the rocket is the C25 cryogenic. The high-efficiency CE-20 cryogenic engine uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and is optimized for high specific impulse — the most fuel-efficient chemical propulsion for vacuum operations. The C25’s long, controlled burn is used to inject heavy payloads into the high-energy transfer orbit needed for subsequent orbit-raising by the spacecraft itself. Notably, this mission included a CE-20 reignition test to refine the injection — a delicate manoeuvres that underscores both engine reliability and flight-software precision, which was highlighted by ISRO Chairman and other ISRO Centre Directors in their post launch address.

Addressing the nation ISRO Chairman reported that the GSAT 7R Satellite has been successfully inducted in the sub-GTO parking ellipse path of roughly 170 km × 29,970 km (perigee × apogee), from which the satellite will perform autonomous orbit-raising manoeuvres to reach a circular geostationary slot near ~36,000 km altitude. Over the coming days to weeks the ISRO will help the satellites on board propulsion system to execute perigee-raising and apogee-circularisation burns under the control of ISRO’s Master Control Facility (MCF) and mission operations. These phasing burns take advantage of the vehicle’s orbital mechanics: small, well-timed impulses at perigee or apogee until the orbit is circularised at the planned geostationary altitude at around 36000 Km. 

Ground-segment, tracking, and mission control

The very sight of the rocket launch is a memorable experience, no matter how many times we witness it. The launch site with rows of monitoring scientists with computers and the large screen which shows the path of the rocket in flight is made visible by ISRO’s Telemetry. The Tracking and Command network (ISTRAC) — a distributed constellation of ground stations — provides continuous tracking and telemetry of the rocket from lift-off to spacecraft separation. Stations at Sriharikota, Port Blair, Thiruvananthapuram, Mauritius, Brunei and Biak (Indonesia), and the Mission Operations Complex in Bengaluru are part of the long-standing TTC architecture that monitors the vehicle’s health and sends telecommands as required. Once the satellite separates, the Master Control Facility at Hassan (and the MCF node at Bhopal) assumes command responsibility for early orbit operations, payload health checks, solar array deployments and the initial orbit-raising burns. 

The satellite: multiband payload and operational significance

CMS-03 (GSAT-7R) is a purpose-built, multi-band communications satellite for the Indian Navy and national stakeholders. ISRO brief describes that the satellite is capable of providing UHF, S, C and Ku-band services. Those bands together support secure voice, high-data-rate video and encrypted command-and-control links between ships, aircraft, submarines (surface ships use UHF/S bands to reach submerged platforms via relays) and shore centres. The satellite’s stated operational life is roughly 15 years — a typical design life that balances fuel margin, orbital perturbation management and payload degradation. Over that window, the satellite will underpin network-centric naval operations, maritime domain awareness, and high-capacity data links for civil and strategic users across the Indian Ocean Region. 

Voices from the control room and the strategic horizon

From the Mission Control Centre, ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan hailed the “precise injection” and noted the vehicle’s performance was textbook — language that captures the twin facts of engineering exactitude and institutional confidence. ISRO mission leadership also highlighted the successful reignition of the cryogenic upper stage — a non-trivial capability that pays dividends for complex trajectories and future human missions. ISRO has explicitly linked LVM3’s maturation to the Gaganyaan human-spaceflight programme: the same family of technologies, scaled and certified for crew safety, form the engineering backbone of India’s next frontier in human spaceflight. 

What this means for the next decade and a half, technically, the mission confirms LVM3’s capacity to loft heavier payloads to GTO, easing constraints on spacecraft designers. Operationally, CMS-03 immediately augments India’s maritime communications and, over the medium term (years) enhances interoperability with other national assets. Strategically, this is an incremental but clear signal: sovereign launch capability for heavy defence and dual-use satellites reduces external dependency and accelerates India’s space-enabled resilience. 

India's forthcoming space missions encompass lunar sample return, a domestic space station architecture and crewed flights, each of which needs exacting standards of “rocket science” precision and yesterday’s success of the LVM3-M5 positioning the GSAT-7R into its intended Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) augurs well for ISRO's future mission.

May ISRO continue to make the nation proud and unite the nation as Cricket does, when we celebrate as one nation, one people, whenever we win tournaments, like the one that the Indian Women’s team which won the World Cup yesterday 

Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan and Jai Vigyan

Jai Hind