Wife Of Martyred Major Clears SSB Exam To Join Indian Army As a Tribute To Late Husband

We can only imagine the pain of the families of martyred soldiers who have laid their lives for our country. It’s a trying time especially for their wives who are not only left grieving but are left with a family and children to feed and take care of.

Major Prasad Mahadik, who was one of the finest officers posted in the 7th battalion of the Bihar Regiment, was killed at his shelter at the Indo-China border in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh in December 2017.

His shelter caught fire and he was trapped, eventually leading to his death.

On hearing the news, his wife was left devastated, but not defeated.

Now 32-years old, Gauri Mahadik, had then decided to pay tribute to her deceased husband by quitting her job and joining the Indian Army and serve the country.

“My joining the Indian Army would be the best tribute to my husband,” she had said a year back.

According to sources, Gauri was a qualified lawyer and company secretary. But after the death of her husband, she left her job and started preparing for the armed forces.

“I was determined to join the army…and the uniform which I will wear after commissioning will become ours…mine and my husband”, she said.

Gauri was married to Major Prasad in 2015 after which she lived with her in-laws in Mumbai’s Virar area.

She cleared the Services Selection Board (SSB) exam in her second attempt with flying colours!

And now she is all set to join the Officers Training Academy. Once her 49-week training is completed, she will be joining the army as a Lieutenant in March 2020.

“I will be commissioned as a lieutenant in the non-technical category for war widows,” she said.

Gauri informed that the SSB exam was held for widows of defence personnel, who died in harness. Around 16 candidates qualified from three centres — Bangalore, Bhopal and Allahabad.

“We were exempted from answering a written exam conducted by the Combined Defence Services (CDS) and directly appeared for the oral test at Bhopal”, she said.

She also revealed that her journey came with a “happy coincidence”.

“At the exam centre in Bhopal, I got allotted the same chest number [28] that my husband was allotted before his selection to the OTA,” she said.

It’s as if she was destined to join the Army!

When our soldiers die in service of the country, they leave behind heroes who are also willing to lay their lives for the nation. Many a time, they are (s)heroes.