Martyrs’ widows who turned officers
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 thirdhighest 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.
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. An exhaustive account of Colonel Mahadik’s courage has been documented in India’s Most Fearless, an upcoming book from Penguin authored by this correspondent and news website Livefist editor-in-chief Shiv Aroor.
In the book, Major Pravin Kumar, who was part of the operation with Mahadik, reveals details of the mission hitherto unknown. “While Col Mahadik was being airlifted to Srinagar, I received a call from his wife. She had already heard,” remembers Major Pravin, then adjutant at 41 Rashtriya Rifles headquarters. “Her question still haunts me: ‘Zinda rahenge ya nahi rahenge? Bas itna bata do’ (Will he live or not? Just tell me that).” “She called again a short while later. This time, she asked me how many rounds had hit her husband. I mustered my strength to inform her that he had taken 7 bullets. She hung up the phone.” For Swati, the training process had its own challenges. “The 40-km runs can be very difficult. I couldn’t cope with the training initially. But then I would think of Santosh’s sacrifice and get inspired, and my coursemates were very supportive too,” she said, recalling how a buddy female cadet would massage her feet after crosscountry runs.