The Amazing Story Of Lt.Gen. Punita Arora, Who Stirred A Generation Of Women To Join The Army

Today we celebrate women who join the Indian armed forces, because it is after more than 6 decades that they have finally found acceptance to serve to defend our borders and sovereignty.

But long before the idea of women in the armed forces, there was a woman who joined the army as an officer and would go on to break all glass ceilings and become one of the most decorated officers in the Indian Armed Forces.

But Punita Arora’s story is not the usual success story. She had to face hardships too.

1. She was just 1 year old when she moved from Pakistan to India during the partition. Her family came to India with just a blanket and a glass.

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Her family built their lives from scratch in India, just like the million other families who were displaced. Her life was hard at the beginning.

 

2. But they made it through due to the unity in her joint family. This was a quality she carried into the armed forces

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If one family member earned money, it was distributed equally among all family members.

“Our family system is so beautiful. If we disintegrate like nuclear families we are losing a lot. Today what I am I wouldn’t be without the support of my family,”

 

3. Her father was very supportive of her vision of becoming a doctor. But back in 1960s medical colleges rarely took in female students

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She applied for admission to the government college in Saharanpur but they told her that they only admitted boys. But Mrs. Punita was determined so they asked her to find and bring in 3 more girls and they would admit them.

She found the girls and got admission!

 

4. After finishing her MBBS, she joined AFMC as an undergraduate in 1962 and became an officer in the Indian Army

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After her post graduation, she was posted as a faculty in AFMC itself. Back then, girls did not even have a hostel. They used to house all the female students in the barracks. Even though the infrastructure was not that great, the teaching was world class.

And even though she was a woman, she did get difficult postings.

 

5. She was posted in Fatehgarh which used to be infested with dacoits the likes of Gabbar Singh and no hospitals in the vicinity

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Fatehgarh had no doctors, no hospitals back then. The nearest hospital was 6 hours away in Kanpur and there was only one train per day at midnight. If a patient missed a train General Arora would take care of the patient for another day, because she had to. She says this gave her a lot of confidence.

 

6. She even treated soldiers who were wounded during a terrorist attack when she was posted in Kaluchak in Jammu and Kashmir in 2002

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Terrorists targeted a bus carrying soldiers’ wives and children and brutally fired on it. 7 people died in the attack, many of them infants. The critical and wounded were brought to the command hospital where General Arora gave all the injured prompt medical service. For this, she was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal by the President of India for exceptional leadership.

 

7. General Arora has been awarded 15 medals in her 36 years of service in the Indian army. She also started the famous gyne-endoscopy and oncology facilities in the armed forces hospital. She received a Sena medal for that.

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And she swears by the Army and the quality of life Indian armed forces provide. She wants the youth of this country to join the armed forces.

“How many can afford going to Shillong or Ladakh? They’ll be paying through their nose, people take holiday packages and spend money to live in tents. While we naturally stay like this over there, isn’t it?”

 

8. And she firmly believes in India when everyone around us is only finding faults.

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For her, India delivers and even though the system is a bit slow, she believes everything works out in the end. She believes in optimism and that India will become better with time.

 

9. She comes from a family of doctors. Her Husband retired as a Brigadier. Her son serves as a doctor in the army and so did her daughter

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And her daughter-in-law is also a doctor in the army. And if you consider the rank, she is the most superior in her family.

 

10. She is also one of the rare officers who has been a Lt. General in the Army as well as a Vice Admiral in the Indian Navy

Because AFMC has a common pool of officers, they can change their service if they are required to do so.

And that’s how the woman who gave Indian Army its first woman Lt. general gave the Indian Navy its first woman Vice Admiral.

She didn’t aspire to be in the army. It just happened, and thank god it did. Because of her story, many women in the armed forces can believe that they can get into the top echelons of the armed forces in India.

Thank you for your services to the country, General.

Fact Sources – Rediff, Times Of India

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