Love for the uniform motivates small town women

PANCHKULA - They may be from small towns but that hasn’t stopped them from dreaming big. They have made it to the first women’s contingent of the paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to be deployed soon at the international border and other sensitive locations.

Patriotism and love for the uniform motivated these women to join the ITBP.

“I have done a masters in Hindi but I preferred the ITBP over other jobs to continue the family tradition. My grandfather had retired from the ITBP and currently my father and uncle are serving in this force,” Meetu Yadav, a native of Uttar Pradesh, told IANS.

Yadav, 24, was adjudged best in firing during her training and was one among the six girls to get trophies from union Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

“It was love for the uniform that motivated me. Now I will soon sit for the commission exam to join this force at officer rank,” Yadav stated.

The first contingent of 209 women was inducted into the ITBP last week after their final passing out parade at the basic training centre in Bhanu, around 15 km from here.

Chidambaram took the salute at the parade. He also went to Bhiwani Singh, father of recruit Anita, and personally congratulated him.

“I think I am the luckiest father on earth as it is only due to my daughter that I got a chance to meet our home minister. Chidambaram enquired about my family. He is a very down-to-earth and humble man,” said Singh, who had specially come from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh to attend the parade.

Pooja Bisht, a resident of Almora in Uttarakhand, told IANS, “I am anxiously waiting for the day when I would actually get a chance to guard the international border. We will prove wrong the notion that ITBP and any other paramilitary forces are male-dominated fields.”

These women will be stationed at Nathu La Pass, the crucial trade route between India and China, and assist women pilgrims and tourists during the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

Of the 209 women, the largest group, 44, is from Uttarakhand, followed by 36 from Uttar Pradesh and 22 from Bihar.

“We are five sisters but now I have a feeling that I can be a brother to my other four sisters. I am the first one in the family to join this force. Many people from our community discouraged me, but my father’s immense support helped me to realise my childhood dream of serving my country,” Mamta Joshi, another native of Uttarakhand, told IANS.

Joshi, who has studied till Class 12, was adjudged best in physical training during the training at the ITBP camp.

The women belong to the age group of 19 to 25 years and some of them are even married. While 44 have passed Class 10, 129 have passed Class 12, 29 are graduates and seven are postgraduates.

Monika of Jhook village in Haryana’s Mahindergarh district has been married for the last two years. However, she finds no problem in balancing her professional and personal life.

“There was no objection from my in-laws. In fact, my husband and mother-in-law wanted me to join the ITBP. Fellow villagers have started giving extraordinary treatment to my family since I joined this force!” Monika said.

(Alkesh Sharma can be contacted at alkesh.s@ians.in)