Beside a host of reasons, one prominent thing that makes the Indian Army great is its ability to bring out the best in a (wo)man. This character of Indian Army does not stop here, when you look at what has been achieved by the Veer Naris (widows of Army men who laid down their lives in the line of duty).
So, it is not difficult to appreciate what is common between 27-year-old Ravinder Jeet Randhawa, a widow of Major Sukhwinder Jeet Singh Randhawa, killed in action while leading a counter-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir in 1997 or 25-year-old Sabina Singh whose husband, a helicopter pilot, died in a crash in the northeast, or Priya Semwal the first widow of a non-commissioned officer Naik Amit Sharma, who was martyred while serving his unit the 14 Rajput regiment in a counter-insurgency operation near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh in 2012.
Today there are over 50 Veer Naris who honourably declined the lucrative offer of a lifelong last drawn pay of their martyred husbands and instead expressed their desire to prove their mettle by joining the Indian Army as officers. It must be clear here that except for some relaxation in age and marital status these brave women are not given any special privileges in the process of selection or training. On the contrary it is clearly informed to them that if
they get selected, all special treatments as Veer Naris will cease for them and they will be treated at par with other officers of the Indian Army.
These brave and honourable young women, many of whom are mothers of young children have refused to live in the shadow of their martyred husbands and have come forward to challenge their limits.
Keeping up with the finest traditions of this great Army, Mrs Rigzin Choral became an officer after successful completion of the 11 month long rigorous training at Officers Training Academy Chennai. By doing this, she fulfilled her late husband’s dream of becoming an Army Officer. Her brave husband late Rifleman Rigzin Khandap was posted with the Zedang Sumpa Battalion, of Ladakh Scout when he laid down his life in the call of duty. She also has
the honour of being first women of Ladakh to have done so.
Cheers to you Lt Rigzin Choral, and welcome home. I am sure your late husband is as proud of you as we all are.