Time promptly passed,
And he held a rifle in hand,
Stars on his shoulders, serving his homeland.
Stood in his uniform, a proud, noble sight,
He pledged to keep his countrymen safe day and night.

Yet fate struck hard, in the line of oblivion he fell,
His country’s tricolours draped, a story of bravery and sacrifice to tell.
His bright eyes dimmed, his spirit took flight,
Leaving memories of valour burning bright.

A hero’s sacrifice,
In his time of service, he said,
“The stars I gazed at pale to those on my shoulder,
It’s my pride in sacrificing myself, as an Indian Army soldier.”

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I am a Std IX student. It has always been my aim to join the Indian Army. I would like to know about the NDA.
Puneet

The National Defence Academy, Pune (nda.nic.in) is a centre of excellence for military training. This prestigious inter-service institution conducts training for unmarried male citizens who wish to serve the defence services: Indian Army, Indian Navy or India Air Force.

Admission to NDA is through an entrance examination, conducted twice a year by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), New Delhi (upsc.gov.in). This examination consists of a written examination, interview, outdoor physical tests, psychological assessment and group tests. The candidate should be an unmarried male having passed 10+2. For joining the Air Force and Navy wings of the Armed Forces you need Mathematics and Physics at the 10+2 level.

The course of training is for three years. 68% of the training curriculum at the NDA is devoted to academics. The aim is to achieve excellence in academic pursuits without compromising on outdoor activities. Every cadet has to play some game, pass compulsory outdoor training tests, participate in competitive sports, including rifle firing, handball and yachting. On successful completion of the degree course, the cadets are awarded a Bachelor’s degree in Arts, Science or Computer Science by Jawaharlal Nehru University.

After completion of the course at the NDA/Naval Academy, Army cadets join the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, Navy cadets join a training ship, and Air Force cadets move on to the Air Force Training Academy in Hyderabad. These courses are 18 months long after which you are commissioned as an officer in the Indian Armed Forces.

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Bijendra Kumar, father of Sujeet, still remembers the moment — which was around 10 years ago — when he told other villagers that he was sending his son to a school in Rajasthan so he could study and become an Army officer. Most of them laughed at him and said: “As a sanitation worker he is thinking too big.”

On June 12, Bijendra Kumar grinned as he watched his 21-year-old son, Sujeet, a graduate from the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun, become the first Army officer from his village of Basila. Bijendra Kumar is a sanitation worker and his wife is an “Asha worker”. 

Kumar told the media in an interview, “I held a broom, but my son will protect the country with his guns.” The family huddled around the television to watch the Passing Out Parade as the family members of the Gentleman Cadets (CGs) were not allowed to be present during the ceremony due to Covid-19. Sujeet expressed his feeling and said, “I would have loved to see the pride and the smile on my parents’ face.” 

Sujeet will soon be posted as Army Ordnance Corps and he hopes that his achievement will motivate more youngsters in his village to don the olive green uniform. Kumar said that he had already inspired his siblings. All his siblings are now preparing for competitive exams. Kumar has taken his other two children to Varanasi in the hope that they access to better education facilities. 

Kumar said, “My wife lives alone in the village, as she has to look after the health of people in that area. We do visit her once in a while but we have decided that we will do everything in our power to help our kids get the career they want.”

After seeing his elder son becoming successful, now Kumar is confident that his family’s dreams will come true. He said, “I know all my children will achieve what they aspire to one day. Challenges can only make people stronger. My elder daughter finished school two years ago but I couldn’t arrange money for medical coaching so she is studying on her own for MBBS. My younger daughter wants to become an IAS officer while my younger son wants to get into IIT.”

(Courtesy: The Times of India)

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As a boy, Navin Gulia was a below-average student and since he was also physically weak he never participated in any sports. But the constant mockery of his classmates and the adventurism of his brother drove him forward. Finally, he became one of the most accomplished sportsmen in his school. Once he finished his schooling, he was selected by the military in Pune.

At the end of four years of training at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, the 19-year-old trainee reached the “Passing out Parade” on 29 April 1995. He was required to complete an obstacle course. After crossing an eight feet ditch, he was at the top of a high ramp. There, by mistake, a companion pushed him. As he tumbled down from the pedestal, Gulia landed on his upper back, damaging his spine.

Lying paralyzed in a hospital bed for two years, doctors told him that even if he survived, he would never be able to move about. Even then, he refused to hold any grudge against the companion who pushed him saying he never imagined that he will be paralyzed for life! During his bedridden days, he read many inspiring survivor stories. Deciding not to spend the rest of his life on a wheelchair complaining, he completed his Masters in Computer Science from Pune in first division and in the UGC NET Examination and became a computer teacher.

When he fell from the ramp, he was just one step away from becoming an Army Officer. So Gulia fought with the government to grant him the Officer status and the pension, and succeeded in getting it.

Not to confine himself to a classroom, he wanted to drive a car, and learned driving online and got his license. He then modified a Maruti 800 into a fancier model, and started driving on a modified SUV up to Khardung La, the alleged highest motorable pass. When he successfully completed it, he learned that Marsimik La was the highest motorable pass in the world.

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The love they have for the country is so pure, so selfless and yet irrevocable. The sacrifices that they make are unimaginable and that’s what makes them so distinguished and special. For me, they are the perfect epitome of courage, discipline, loyalty, patience, intelligence and respect. In spite of their altruistic contributions to the nation, they are extremely down-to-earth people and never consider themselves superior to others.

Thinking of joining the Indian army is itself a brave thing. It means that you are ready to devote yourself fully to the country and are willing to cross any obstacles, however hard they may be. I have always wondered what kind of fire they have burning in their hearts that drives them to fight so relentlessly against the enemies of the land, and endure so much pain beyond what we can imagine. The spirit possessed by these brave hearts is commendable.

The army has always upheld the honour of the nation. “Our flag does not sway because the wind moves it, it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” The Indian army will remain my idol, forever.

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“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.”
— Marissa Mayer (former CEO of Yahoo!)

At 19, Shalini married Major Avinash Singh. She continued with her studies also after marriage. Two years passed happily, and the couple was blessed with a child in 1999. Major Avinash was posted to Kashmir at the time which meant long hauls with little or no connection. But the two made it work. Mobile phones were not common those days, so the only means of communication was the STD booth. To talk for five minutes both of them had to wait for about an hour. Shalini remembers how Avinash would enjoy listening to the meaningless chatter of his baby son.

Shalini was managing the roles of a mother, a wife, and a student, waiting for the day when the family would be united. But fate willed otherwise. On 28 September 2001, she got a message from Major Avinash’s unit that he had been seriously injured after killing four terrorists. He attained martyrdom at the age of 29. Shalini was a widow at 23 and a mother of a two-year-old son.

Initially, she was in a state of shock. She did not know how to react to people coming to offer condolences. She even thought of ending her life, but the face of her son made her change her mind. She gathered courage and decided to live, if not for herself, at least for her son Dhruv, who was oblivious of the catastrophe that had hit the family. “Dhruv brought life back in me. I had to be strong, for him. I decided to join the Army. I was not sure how I would do it. I was very fragile and delicate physically. I was a pampered child of my family. When I met his unit officers at my home, I told them that I had decided to join the Army,” she says.

Some of her friends and relatives were supportive of her decision, but others tried to dissuade her given the tough training and difficult service conditions in the Army. Moreover, Dhruv was a toddler and dependent on her. Shalini thought that Dhruv was her greatest strength and she would not let it become her weakness. She focused on the future and decided that she would do all it took to become an Army officer.

She dropped out of her postgraduate course and enrolled for coaching to prepare for the Service Selection Board (SSB) interview. Her efforts bore fruit, and she was called for an interview at SSB Allahabad in December 2001. Barely three months had passed after the death of her husband. As the interview was one week long, she asked her parents to accompany her. They stayed separately with Dhruv as they were not allowed inside the SSB campus. At a fixed time she would go to a nearby park where her parents would be waiting with Dhruv. This was to enable her to feed him as he refused to eat from his grandparents. Co-candidates who watched the events unfold lauded her. While she put up a brave face during the day, she couldn’t help crying at night, as she missed her son.

Tears of joy rolled down her cheeks when she got the news that she had cleared the SSB interview. Shalini was required to stay for another week for the medical tests. She convinced Dhruv to return with his grandparents, and the little boy happily agreed.

After being found medically fit, Shalini reported for training to the Officer’s Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai. On the one hand, she was feeling the pangs of separation from her three-year-old son, and on the other hand, the gruelling physical training exhausted her daily.

She completed the rigorous six-month training in September 2002, and passed out as a commissioned officer. It was a sea change from saree/suits to OG uniform and army boots. So strong was her determination that she achieved her dream just three weeks before Major Avinash’s first death anniversary.

When Major Avinash was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra (the second highest gallantry award), it was Shalini who proudly received it from the then President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

For years she dedicatedly served the country and fought to break the glass ceiling as a single mother working in a male-dominated environment. She only quit the defence force to help her then 16-year-old son. After that, she worked in an MNC to support her son and plan for his future. Dhruv has since appeared in the NDA entrance examinations. His dream is to become an Army officer and do his parents proud.

Settled in Delhi, the former captain did not stop winning at life. Fifteen years after the death of her husband, 39-year-old Shalini went on to be crowned ‘Classic Mrs India — Queen of Substance 2017’, a title apt for the woman of steel that she is.

Captain Shalini is a spectacular example not just for the many army widows who undergo tremendous difficulties after the loss of their husbands but also for women and girl children across India. Her story will inspire them to not give up, not even in the face of personal loss. Her struggle and never-say-die attitude will continue to inspire women for years to come.

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The Indian Army has set up the Jaisalmer War Museum to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of soldiers, specifically during the 1965 Indo-Pak War and the 1971 Longewala battle. Apart from the evolution of the Indian Army, the museum showcases tales of bravery and sacrifice of heroes of the wars. War trophies and vintage equipment are on display along with tanks, guns and military vehicles. The IAF has donated a Hunter aircraft which was used during the Battle of Longewala. The museum has murals of soldiers who lost their lives in the war and weapons used at that time. An audio-visual theatre screens a movie about the battle, including an interview with Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, Maha Vir Chakra, the hero of the Longewala battle, who describes the heroic deeds of the soldiers of the Indian armed forces.

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I am a student of Std X. I am keen on the defensive or police fields but I don’t know much about how to pursue this or what course I should go for. How should I pursue it?
Vishakha Jaswani
St Patrick’s Vidya Bhawan, Jodhpur

A career in the Indian Armed Forces is different from all other career options. It is not simply a job. Most people who join the armed forces do it because of a certain notion of patriotism and believe in the idea of the nation. Whether a soldier or a technical assistant or even a clerk or a tradesman or cartographer, most recruits join the armed forces out of this sense of patriotism.

The armed forces consist of the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. There are two options for the service. Permanent Commission offers a career in the armed forces till you retire. Short Service Commission offers you the opportunity to join the armed forces for five years initially, which can be extended.

Here are different ways to enter the armed forces.
•    Through National Defence Academy (NDA)/ Naval Academy after 10+2 (only male candidates).
•    Through the Combined Defence Services Examination (CDSE) after graduation.
•    Direct Entry through the Service Selection Boards (SSBs) for the Army and Navy and through the Air Force Selection Board (AFSB) for the Air Force.
•    University entry for engineering students.
•    Women’s Special Entry Scheme for women graduates/post-graduates in specified subjects on Short Service Commission.
•    Through NCC for graduates with 50 NCC ‘C’ certificate.

For details, visit the official website of the Indian army, air force and navy at armedforces.nic.in

To join the police force, you have to fulfil the conditions and standards laid down for the particular rank that you wish to join at.

At the state level you can join either as a constable and go up to Deputy Superintendent of Police or you can join at sub-inspector level and get promoted all the way up to Superintendent of Police, in charge of a district. To join as a constable you need to have at least passed high school. To join as a sub-inspector you need to be a graduate.

Constables and sub-inspectors have to take a written entrance test. If you pass you have to go for a physical test and then an interview. On clearing the interview, you are expected to undergo a medical check in order to determine whether you are physically fit to join the police. After these processes are complete, final selections are made.

At the central level, IPS officers are recruited and ranks begin as either an Additional/Assistant Superintendent or Superintendent of Police. To join as an IPS officer, one has to sit for the preliminary examination conducted by the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) for which eligibility is graduation.

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