New Delhi: Being a ‘fauji’ kid, Sofiya Qureshi grew up listening to tales of valour and sacrifice of the army shared by her grandfather, who was a soldier. Many years later, when she expressed her desire to join the armed forces, her family didn’t hesitate and stood firmly behind her decision.
A colonel in the Indian Army today, Sofiya Qureshi, was chosen to brief the nation about India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ Wednesday.
During the briefing, Col Sofiya and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force flanked Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on the dais, who delivered the opening statement from the government.
The briefing came hours after the Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and PoK, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s base Muridke.
Qureshi and Singh shared the names and details of the sites targeted from 1 am to 1.30 am on the intervening night of May 6-7.
A multi-generation officer in the Army who imbibed the spirit of serving the nation at an early age, Qureshi is an officer from the Corps of Signals and spoke in Hindi while Singh shared the details in English, complementing each other.
The military strikes were carried out under ‘Operation Sindoor’ two weeks after the massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
In a panel discussion hosted in 2017, Qureshi shared about her journey into the armed forces and what inspired her to don the olive-green uniform.
“Being a ‘fauji’ kid, I was exposed to the army environment. My mother wanted either of us two sisters to join the Army. I applied for it and got it. My grandfather was also in the Army, and he used to say, ‘It is our responsibility, as every citizen, to be alert and stand up for our country and defend the nation. ‘ It is a dignified and honourable job,” she had recalled.
She also said that when she “joined the academy, the Kargil war was going on”.
The colonel’s family members said they were surprised and proud to see her live on television.
“We are very happy with what our daughter has done for the country. Everyone should educate their children, especially daughters, and make them capable so that they become officers and do something for the country,” Qureshi’s mother told PTI Videos.
“When she was young, her grandfather used to tell her stories about the army. When she grew up, she said that she wanted to join the army… We didn’t stop her,” she added.
Her brother said he was proud of her achievements.
“When I saw her on TV, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It took a while for me to realise that the person speaking was my sister. It is a matter of pride for all of us,” he said.
Speaking about India’s action, he said that now the score has been settled with Pakistan.
Born in Gujarat’s Vadodara in 1974, she graduated with a Master’s in biochemistry from Manonmaniam Sundaranar (MS) University in 1997, a source said.
An officer in the critical Corps of Signals, in the past, she had been picked for the role of a military observer in Democratic Republican of Congo in 2006, and been part of flood relief operations in the Northeast region.
The Army officer had broken the glass ceiling when in 2016, she became the first woman officer to lead its contingent at a multi-national field training exercise, Force 18, hosted by India for interoperability in sustaining peace among ASEAN nations.
“1st woman officer to lead an Army training contingent at Force18 – #ASEAN Plus multinational field training exercise in 2016. She was the only Woman officer contingent Commander among all #ASEAN Plus contingents. #WomensDay #IWD2020 #EachforEqual #SheInspiresUs,” the Ministry of Defence had said in a Women’s Day post on X, sharing a photograph of Qureshi.
She has also been to other countries as part of the United Nations training team, where she received many accolades. The Army officer has conducted workshops for uplifting and motivating youths, especially girls, in insurgency-prone areas of Kashmir and in West Bengal, sources said.
In her journey so far, she has picked up many awards along the way and inspired many citizens, especially young women, to take up a career in the armed forces.
PTI
