CHANDIGARH: On June 17, 1997, Ravinder Jit Randhawa’s life lay shattered – her husband, Main Sukhwinder Jeet Singh Randhawa (Kirti Chakra, posthumous), had sacrificed his life preventing terrorists in Kashmir. Barely 15 months later, she graduated from Officers Coaching Academy, Chennai, as a lieutenant, carrying the identical olive inexperienced as her husband.Lt Col Randhawa (retd) turned out to be India’s first Veer Nari (struggle widow) to grow to be an officer. She served 24 years and continues to encourage women to affix the navy.On the eve of Int’l Women’s Day, TOI spoke along with her and one other trailblazer, Main Priya Jhingan (retd), who has the delight of being Woman Cadet 001. The two rewrote historical past within the armed forces. Their journeys broke limitations and helped open doorways for women throughout entry streams within the Army.
A promise savedLt Col Randhawa’s determination to affix the Army after a deeply private loss broke institutional limitations, with the Army stress-free age and marital standing restrictions: “After a loss like ours, the bottom beneath your ft disappears. Changing into a commissioned officer gave me goal.”She mentioned her upbringing in Punjab, with its deep respect for troopers, and the will to honour her husband’s legacy strengthened her resolve. “I draw immense power from my mom.”She recalled how ex-Army chief Gen VP Malik and his spouse Dr Ranjana Malik had a key function in her donning the olive inexperienced. It was solely after her request to Gen Malik, who wrote to govt, that the Army opened the gates for Veer Naaris. “Indian armed forces turned the primary on the earth to take such a step. It displays the spirit of women’s illustration and empowerment.”Her message to women: “Life can push you to unimaginable extremes. However in the event you consider in your self, no problem is insurmountable.”In letter and spiritMain Jhingan’s journey into the Army started with a easy but daring act. As a faculty scholar, she wrote to then Chief of Army Employees, Gen Sunith Francis Rodrigues, urging him to permit women to affix the forces.“In Class X, I got here throughout an commercial inviting younger males to affix the Army. I realised I met each qualification talked about, besides one: I used to be not a ‘younger man’.”Her dedication paid off. In 1992, Jhingan joined the primary batch of 25 women officers at OTA, Chennai, incomes the excellence of Woman Cadet 001. “For me, it was by no means about being the primary. It was about guaranteeing the doorways opened for a lot of extra younger women who dreamed of carrying the uniform,” she mentioned. “I used to be not there to compete with males or show I used to be higher than males. I used to be there to face shoulder-to-shoulder with them in serving the nation.“
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