The participation of women in the Indian Army is increasing rapidly. The example of this has been presented by the daughter of India, Shiva Chauhan.
Captain Shiva Chauhan of Fire and Fury Corps became the first woman officer to to be operationally deployed in Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield. The officer was posted at the Kumar post, located at an altitude of around 15,600 feet in Siachen in January 2023.
Captain Shiva Chouhan who hails from Rajasthan, is a Bengal Sapper Officer. Chouhan lost her father at the age of 11 and her mother, a housewife, took care of her studies.
She did her schooling from Udaipur and graduated from NJR Institute of Technology, Udaipur, in civil engineering. Covering a distance of 508 kms, Capt Chouhan successfully led the Sura Soi Cycling Expedition from Siachen War Memorial to Kargil War Memorial conducted on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas in July 2022.
She then took up the challenge of leading the men of Sura Soi Engineer Regiment at Siachen and, based on her performance, was selected to undergo training at the Siachen Battle School.
Before her deployment, Chouhan was put through a rigorous one-month training including endurance training, ice wall climbing, avalanche and crevasse rescue and survival drills, at the Siachen Battle School alongside other officers of the Indian Army.
PM Modi on January 3 lauded her deployment saying this highlights the spirit of India’s “Nari Shakti”. “This will make every Indian proud, illustrating the spirit of India’s Nari Shakti”, he tweeted.