Fighting spirit: The first batch of 19 women cadets
The first batch of girl cadets will train at the tri-services training academy, National Defence Academy (NDA), in Pune. Representation picture/PTI
It’s time for women to reach newer heights in India’s armed forces. And they are all set for the challenge. The first batch of 19 cadets has joined the tri-services training academy, National Defence Academy (NDA), in Khadakwasla, Pune. As part of the NDA (Women)’s 148th course, they will report on Tuesday, according to a report in The Print. “Fighting spirit”
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The training
A dedicated support staff will facilitate the training of the girls, between the ages of 16 to 19.5.
“The training objective at NDA shall continue to remain as a centre of excellence for producing military leaders equipped with professional, moral and physical attributes required for leading the troops to victory in the future battlefields,” the defence academy had said in a press statement in March.
The cadets
Among the 19 cadets are two girls from Kerala Ann Rose Mathew from Kochi and Sreelakshmi Haridos from Thrissur. Both received calls to join the NDA on 6 August, reports The Times of India. Mathew is the daughter of a naval officer. A first-year BTech student, she was passionate about joining the defence forces. “I grew up seeing my dad in uniform and he is my inspiration. My mother wanted to see me in uniform,” she told the newspaper. [Fighting Spirit]
Haridos is the daughter of a professor and a teacher and will join the NDA in the air force ground duty scheme, according to ToI. Mathew and Haridos ranked seventh and 12th among the women cadets. The topper among the girls is 19-year-old Shanan Dhaka from Haryana.
Dhaka belongs to a family that has served in the armed forces. Her grandfather was a subedar and her father retired as a Naib Subedar from the Army Service Corps. Plus the trust everybody has in army personnel really motivated me to join the service. It’s an opportunity to serve the nation with unparalleled pride and honour,” Dhaka told The Indian Express.
In September 2021, the Supreme Court permitted women candidates to appear for the NDA entrance examinations for the first time, paving the way for them to take on combat roles.
Representation picture/PTI, The women who want to serve the nation As per government figures, of the 5,75,856 applicants for the entrance exam, 1,77,654 were women.
The role of women in the armed forces According to the Defence Ministry, a total of 9,118 women are serving as officers in the three defence forces as of February 2021.
The highest percentage of women officers was in the Indian Navy as they comprised 6.5 per cent of its force with 704 lady officers.
The first women fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force (IAF) started flying MiG-21 Bisons in 2016.
With inputs from agencies
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