The equestrian statue of the Maratha warrior king has been installed at the Army's 41 Rashtriya Rifles Maratha Light Infantry Regiment in the north Kashmir district which shares its border with Pakistan. Special prayers were held by a priest on the occasion.
Another woman -- Nidhi Dubey -- was also commissioned as an officer.
Nidhi Dubey and Swati Mahadik will join the Indian Army as officers just as their deceased soldier husbands did before them.
Colonel Santosh Mahadik died during an operation in Kupwara last year. His wife Swati Mahadik says joining the Indian Army allows her to keep his memory alive.
An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' termed the Supreme Court order as the victory of "women power", and said the Centre needs to change its attitude and vision. The apex court's verdict meant there was a problem in the central government's "mental frame", it said.
The prime minister said he had kept this three-year-old programme away from politics and had tried to connect with the people without getting swayed by the (political) "heat" and "anger" that may prevail at any particular time.
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