Mithali Madhumita: The First Woman In India To Receive A Gallantry Award

By Anaisa Arora

“Courage is grace under pressure.” – Ernest Hemingway

February twenty-sixth, 2010. Kabul was jolted awake by a deafening explosion and gunshots early in the morning. Major Mitali Madhumita, who was on a United Nations mission in Kabul, was one among them. The first thing she did was check on her coworkers' safety, as was customary in Kabul at the time. When she didn't hear back, she called others, only to learn that the Indian embassy in Kabul had been attacked by a suicide bomber. Lieutenant Colonel Mitali Madhumita's linguistic skills came to benefit during one of her most arduous periods.

Madhumita sprinted to the scene to aid because there had been no vehicular activity since the encounter. To her terror, she discovered that the majority of her comrades had been wounded, that bullets were whizzing, and that grenade blasts were taking place. She did what she was trained to do: she jumped in unarmed to save lives. She rescued as many as 19 people buried under the wreckage, including seven Indians, and mobilised local volunteers to seek medical treatment.

Major Madhumita was awarded the Sena Medal for Gallantry for her display of valour and heroism above and beyond the call of duty, making her the first woman to attain the medal. She is still the sole female recipient.

She could have simply turned a blind eye and let local security forces handle the rescue operations if she had desired to. Her courageous act helped save the lives of numerous people who were severely harmed in the attack.

Major Madhumita exemplifies the words courageous, sensitive, altruistic, and compassionate through her actions. Major Madhumitha motivates me to be more courageous, more sensitive, and more compassionate. She motivates me to do more for my motherland. She encourages me to consider others before I ponder myself. She inspires me to be selfless rather than selfish. She will always be entrenched in my mind as the hero who is remembered for her selfless service to humanity.

Her acts paint a picture strikingly similar to those committed by Florence Nightingale- “The Lady with the Lamp” who cures and leads and Irena Sendlerowa- A heroine of the holocaust.

She empowers women from all walks of life, including myself, to pursue leadership positions. Her's is a story about a woman transcending societal, emotional, and structural obstacles to flourish in a domain that was traditionally exclusively restricted to males. She illustrates how service in India's military changes numerous attitudes and mindsets, from crises to perilous excursions to pure passion.

She breaks the glass ceiling and shatters the patriarchal concepts deep-set in India.

“During those moments of mayhem, I was glad I’d picked up the local language Dari on my initiative. It came handy at the time of crisis,” said Mithali in an interview.

Her fast thinking and great presence of mind inspire me to expand and work on mine.

The Rourkela-born Madhumita was an early entrant to the NCC, where she flew gliders and won the all-India gold medal for aeromodelling.“Around 1995, we saw mostly male officers, but I fell in love with the disciplined lifestyle. It changed my life view. I loved the adventure, and of course, the glamour of the uniform,” she says.

She, therefore, inspires me to move forward and never doubt my abilities with regard to my gender. Even though Mithali was in a heavily male-dominated field, she never doubted her capabilities.

Many traits must be instilled in this heroic officer who, without thinking about her safety, hastened to preserve the lives of individuals in need, demonstrating that she is befitting of all the honour conferred to her.

To crown it all up, I’d like to reiterate the wise words of Michelle Obama:

“Don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.” – Michelle Obama

By Anaisa Arora