Galwan brave’s wife set for army entry as lieutenant
Rekha Singh will be among the 200-odd cadets, including 40 women, who will graduate from Chennai-based Officers Training Academy on April 29
The wife of one of the 20 braves killed in a skirmish with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley in June 2020 is set to get commissioned in the army as a lieutenant, officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Rekha Singh will be among the 200-odd cadets, including 40 women, who will graduate from Chennai-based Officers Training Academy on April 29, the officials said, asking not to be named.
In a first, five lady cadets from this latest batch of officers are expected to be commissioned into the in the regiment of artillery.
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Rekha was married to Naik Deepak Singh of the 16th Battalion of Bihar Regiment who was killed in action in the remote valley while fighting numerically superior Chinese soldiers on June 15, 2020, and was posthumously awarded Vir Chakra (VrC) for his heroism in November 2021. VrC is India’s third-highest wartime military honour after Param Vir Chakra (PVC) and Maha Vir Chakra (MVC).
The infantry battalion’s commanding officer, Colonel B Santosh Babu, who was awarded MVC, was among the 20 Indian soldiers killed in the seven-hour deadly conflict near Patrolling Point 14 in Galwan Valley. According to India’s assessment, PLA’s casualties were twice as many as Indian Army’s though Beijing officially claimed that only four Chinese soldiers were killed.
A growing number of army wives whose husbands were killed in combat or in the line of duty is hitting the reset button and choosing to pursue a career in the armed forces to carry forward the legacy of the brave men, soldiering on in the aftermath of upheaval in their lives and inspiring others to follow suit.
The army is encouraging women who are eligible to become officers to follow in the footsteps of their late husbands, and also providing them guidance to make a fresh start.
The wives of soldiers killed in action are granted exemption from appearing for the Combined Defence Services Examination, conducted by Union Public Service Commission (USPC), to qualify for the Services Selection Board interview. They are also entitled to age relaxation.
The upcoming commissioning of women into artillery is the latest in a series of steps taken by the armed forces to open more doors for women.
Women in uniform are no longer on the fringes but are being assigned central roles on a par with their male counterparts across the three services – they are flying fighter planes, serving on board warships, being inducted in the personnel below officer rank (PBOR) cadre, eligible for permanent commission, being assigned command roles, and undergoing training at the National Defence Academy.
To be sure, tanks and combat positions in infantry are still no-go zones for women.
