35 year old Sophia Qureshi is not your girl next door, or even your officer next door. She is an officer of the Indian Army, holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She serves the Signals Corps. At a reasonably young age, she has scripted history for womankind and the Indian Army alike. In March 2016, she became the first lady officer to ever lead an Army contingent at a multi- national military exercise. This exercise/war game, named Exercise Force 18, is the largest foreign military exercise ever hosted by India. Members of ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) took part in this Exercise, which included India, Japan, China, Russia, United States, Korea, New Zealand, and Australia. It took place between March 2 and March 8 in Pune, India. 18 contingents took part in this exercise, amongst which Lieutenant Colonel Qureshi was the only woman officer to lead a contingent.
Lieutenant Colonel Qureshi was chosen from amongst a number of peacekeeping trainers in the country for this honourable task. She has been involved with PKOs (Peacekeeping Operations) since 2010. She has had an experience with this kind of duty before as well, when she served in the UN Peacekeeping Operation in Congo in 2006 as a military observer. On her experience there, she states:
“It was a great experience working with the multinational armies as a military observer, and it’s fulfilling when it deals with protection of women and children from violence”
Lieutenant Colonel Qureshi belongs to Gujarat. Her grandfather served in the Army. Even her father worked in the Army as a religious teacher for a few years. Sophia therefore had a lot of exposure to the Army life from the very beginning.
Commissioned through the Officers Training Academy in 1999, back home, the lady officer served across various postings in India, including in counter-insurgency areas in signal regiments. She gained inspiration from her great grandfather and a few other relatives since they had also been employed in military service (including the British Army). She loves her work and the Army life, and she is proud to be a part of the Indian Army. On being asked what made her join the Army, she states:
“It’s the same charm what draws the men, the love for the nation and honour and pride in donning the uniform.”
Lieutenant Colonel Qureshi has an excellent work record. She was an active participant of the Operation Parakram on the Punjab border, for which she was even awarded a commendation card by the GOC- in- C (General Officer Commanding in Chief). Her work in communication during the flood relief operations in the North East fetched her an SO- in- C (Signal Officer in Chief) commendation card. In response to her being the choice for the leading role, Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat (then Army Commander Southern Command, Pune) made a resounding statement:
“In the Army, we believe in equal opportunity and equal responsibility. In the Army, there is no difference between male and female officers. She has been picked not because she is a woman but as she has the abilities and leadership qualities to shoulder the responsibility.”
In 2016 then, she was selected to lead the Indian contingent in the Exercise which had 40 members. The contingent was involved in training with other troops in the PKOs and HMA (Humanitarian Mine Action). She explained the role of the PKOs in conflict areas across the world-
“On these missions, we monitor the ceasefires in those countries and also aid in the humanitarian activities. The job is to ensure peace in the conflict affected areas.”
She felt proud as she led the contingent on the said occasion. It was a wonderful experience for the gallant officer who enjoyed working with multinational armies and getting the opportunity to learn their ways of military tactics.
Lieutenant Colonel Qureshi married within the Army fraternity too. Her husband, Major Tajuddin Qureshi works for Mechanised Infantry. The two are blessed with a nine year old boy. She feels she is now adept at balancing duty and her home together. She has her priorities straight though for she says that duty always comes first for her.
Lieutenant Colonel Qureshi has high hopes for the girls of the country. Her brief message to them says it all- “Join Army.”
Even her father worked in the Army as a religious teacher for a few years!!