For Srinagar’s Lady Singham, nation comes above everything
A woman wearing a helmet and a flak jacket stood at the head of a battery of security forces picketing an advancing mob of stone-throwing protesters during last year’s summer unrest in the old quarters of Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital.
She is Kanchan Yadav, the assistant commandant of the CRPF’s 44 battalion in Srinagar. For her battalion, she is “Lady Singham” — named after the brave cop played by Ajay Devgan in the hit Singham series.
The 28-year-old officer was the lone woman with the CRPF to be assigned law-and-order responsibilities in the latest bout of unrest in the Valley. “For me, the nation comes first, above everything,” said Yadav, dismissing the dangers of being out on the volatile streets and facing stones. “I love my job. You wear this uniform and take up a responsibility only when a great force drives you… and that, for me, was joining the forces and serving my country.”
Kashmir has been Yadav’s first posting and, since June 2015, she has been based out of a camp in downtown Srinagar. Her courage and skills were tested after militant commander Burhan Wani was killed and protests erupted. She got additional charge of a company deployed to maintain law and order. She stood up to the call of duty. “When I was serving in a static posting, I often wondered if I would be able to perform my responsibilities on ground. But now I am confident I can do anything and serve in any position,” Yadav said.
In her camp by the Jhelum, the 2010 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) officer and a native of Haryana, she traced the family roots that prodded her passion for the khaki uniform. Her mother, too, is an assistant commandant with CRPF, currently on election duty in Manipur. As was her maternal grandfather, who retired from the paramilitary force. Her father is a retired air force officer. “We women are not less than anyone. Just follow your heart and you will do the best.” That’s her message on International Women’s Day.