Martyrs’ widows stand out among new lieutenants
NEWDELHI: Three hundred and twenty-two cadets passed out of Chennai-based Officers’ Training Academy as new lieutenants on Saturday. But two of them were extra special.
What sets Lieutenants Swati Mahadik and Nidhi Dubey apart is that they are widows of soldiers who died on duty. Swati lost her husband, Colonel Santosh Mahadik, in an antiterror operation in Kashmir in 2015. Nidhi’s husband, Naik Mukesh Kumar Dubey, died in service in 2008.
Mahadik was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra – India’s third-highest peacetime gallantry award – for spectacular bravery that saved the lives of several men under his charge.
“It’s a mixed feeling. I wish I could go back to my old life with Santosh around. But that’s not possible. So I tell myself donning the uniform is the easiest way for me to be close to him,” Swati told HT from Chennai.
The first thing she did after the passing out parade was to take her children, Kartikee (12) and Swaraj (7), out for a meal. “I wanted to spend time with the kids. They said I reminded them of their father in the uniform,” said the 38-year-old.
Nidhi Dubey is 32. Cadets join the academy in the 20 to 25 age group, but rules are relaxed for army widows.
Lieutenant Dubey’s brother, Neelesh Mishra, hoped his sister would inspire army widows who think life is over for them after losing their husbands.
“Look at Nidhi, she’s an officer now. For us, nothing can be more inspiring,” Mishra said.