Barely out of their teens, the first batch of girls will graduate alongside 300 male cadets from the National Defence Academy.
Seventeen under-20 girls will change the course of Indian military history when they march out of the parade ground at the National Defence Academy in Khadakvasla, Pune, on May 30.
It will be the first time in 75 years that the NDA will send out 17 female cadets along with 300 males in the 148th graduating course.
The girls have undergone three years of rigorous training on par with the boys. Their every bead of sweat, every drill routine, every cross country race has paved the way for many young girls after them.
Hailing from various states -- Kerala, UP, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi -- they are daughters of former armed forces personnel, teachers and corporate employees.
Their proud parents have arrived at the academy for the passing out parade, and have already elicited fame in their hometowns for their daughters' induction in 'the first girls' batch at NDA'.
Since the girls will be marching alongside boys, they have told the parents of their positions in the marching squadrons to help them spot them.
Among those watching the parade will be retired Wing Commander Vaishnavi Tokekar. As one of the officers responsible for their training, her sense of pride is just as much as the parents.
Wing Commander Tokekar, the first woman divisional officer at NDA, was in charge of the induction, training and life of the girl cadets at the academy.
She along with fellow officers worked and executed the changes that were introduced for the girl cadets in an inherently all-male training structure.
The girls went through the same training regimen as the boys with some minor tweaks in activities that required physical strength.
"When you train alongside a boy, he knows that this girl is going to be an officer alongside me and that one day we are going to be in battle together. Then all the apprehensions that men may have just evaporates," says Wing Commander Tokekar.
When the girls joined the academy in 2022, they were referred to as girl cadets, but as they progressed from the first to the sixth term there were no longer bound by that identity alone.
"A cadet has no gender," says Wing Commander Tokekar.
"They are on par with their male counterparts and have been an amazing first batch."
An incident that still gives her gooseflesh is the 10 metre diving exercise that all cadets have to complete successfully.
The exercise is meant to inculcate mental toughness and conquer fear. It is one of the most challenging routines of the training curriculum.
"The jump is done with the whole academy in attendance. A lot of cadets refuse to jump and do it over several attempts, but not these girls."
"They walked up and jumped -- one by one -- all 17 of them."
"The academy was stunned."
The cross country 14 km race is another example that the officer cites giving an insight into the girls' determination.
"Many cadets get sick or fall in exhaustion, but each girl finished the race.
"If they fell, they got up and ran again."
"We had told them that even if you come last, or take five hours to reach the finish line, you will not give up. You will come back on your own legs -- and they did."
"They have done so much to make us proud," says Wing Commander Tokekar overwhelmed with pride.
The NDA haircut
Just like the rest of the new entrants, the girls are initiated into the academy with a haircut by the NDA barbers.
The hair is shortened to the scalp. All cadets are given the same uniform which makes it difficult to distinguish boy from girl if one does not read their names on the badge.
The girls were initially put in separate living quarters, but were subsequently given accommodation across various squadrons along with male cadets.
The girls' rooms in the squadrons are in a separate enclosure with a private set of bathrooms.
Cadets whose fathers have graduated from NDA have the privilege of parental claim to the same squadron.
The squadron is central to a cadet's life in the academy and beyond. Every squadron has its own tradition and history. Inter-squadron competitions inculcate military learnings. Bonds made in the squadron last a lifetime -- through war and peace.
One of the girl cadets staked her parental claim and was assigned the Hunter Squadron becoming the first woman to enter Hunter, considered to be the most rugged of the 18.
Currently, there are 126 girls in the academy spread across each squadron. The next batch will graduate in December.
Behind the girl cadets lie many stories of grit and fortitude that mark footnotes of amazing life journeys.
Like the father who took a loan to send his daughter to the academy. The NDA pays for the entire training and stay for the cadet, but the family did not have the financial wherewithal to pay for the travel and other extras.
Wing Commander Tokekar and other officers offered to help. The girl could return the money after she was commissioned as an officer, they suggested with gracious concern.
But the father refused.
"This is my contribution towards my country because my girl will go on to serve India. Please don't take that away from me,' he told us," says Wing Commander Tokekar giving a glimpse of the pillars of strength behind children's aspirations.
One of the girl cadets lost her father during training. The 17 year old collapsed with grief when the news was broken to her. She wept in her room for a long time, but when she came out, her face was clean and she was a picture of solemn poise.
The teenager did not let the tears betray her. The training in mental and physical courage was perhaps already holding her up.
Knowing the tough nature of training and the risk of falling behind if there is even a day's unscheduled break, her mother wanted to know if her child would suffer if she came home.
"The parents are equally committed. The making of an officer is a collective aim for a family and the instructors," explains the officer.
The cadets are young kids -- 16 and-a-half, 17, 18 when they enter the academy which calls itself the 'cradle of military leadership'.
"They have worked extremely hard. Eleven out of the 17 were given appointments which is solely because of their performance and not gender," says Wing Commander Tokekar.
An appointment is an area of responsibility given to a cadet, something like a prefect or monitor.
One of the girl cadets has been awarded the flying pin, a coveted accolade for flying.
The girl also participated in the tough camps like Camp Rover and Torna in the senior terms, many a times running way ahead of the boys.
Initially the boys were unsure if the girls could go through the intense outdoor activities that lasts a few days.
"But every day, the girls performed well. Many male cadets would tell them that they never thought girls could do all of this and how proud they should be about themselves," says Wing Commander Tokekar.
"The girls have made all us all proud. They're simply amazing."
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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