SNE NETWORK.NEW DELHI.
Woman is considered a symbol of power. Power, which does not only mean physical strength, but also mental and emotional balance. This story is also of one such brave woman, who not only got the opportunity to become the first female logistics officer to be posted in the high altitude area of Leh, but also got the opportunity to play the role of a staunch supporter through the logistics wing in the Kargil war.
We are talking about 52-year-old Captain Yashika Hatwal Tyagi (Seni), a resident of Doon, who was posted in the logistics wing in Leh in the year 1997. 2 years later in May 1999, when her posting was about to be completed, she got both good and bad news together. She came to know that she was pregnant, but then the Kargil war also broke out.
Helped Indian soldiers while staying in Leh
Yashika did not take any time to decide her role. She decided that she would stay in Leh and help the Indian soldiers. Today, when Captain Yashika is living a retired life, her feeling of patriotism is at its peak here too. She now inspires girls to join the armed forces as a motivational speaker. Recently, President Draupadi Murmu honored her for her efforts for women empowerment.
Father was a military officer
Captain Yashika told that she always wanted to wear a uniform. Her father was a military officer who fought the 1962 Indo-China and 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars. She says, ‘When I was seven years old, my father passed away. I did not understand what was happening. His body decorated with flower garlands was brought in an army truck. But, the way his fellow officers and colleagues helped our family touched my heart.
Yashika tells that she had decided to become an IPS officer, because then women were not allowed to join the army.
Fortunately, the year she graduated, the Army opened its doors to women in non-combat roles under the Special Entry Scheme. She underwent training at OTA Chennai in 1994. Her batch was one of the first to join the Army. To prove that she was in no way inferior to men, she chose a tough field for herself. Her first posting came in 1995. The same year she married a fellow officer and had her first son in 1996.
After completing her first posting in the North Eastern region in the Logistics Wing in 1997, she opted for another tough posting. This time she was sent to the high altitude region of Leh, where she was the first woman logistics officer to be posted. In 1999, when her posting was about to end, the Kargil war broke out. She was pregnant at the time.