Captain Divya Ajith leads the all-women contingent at Republic Day Parade

As the Republic Day approaches, so does the first appearance of the all-women contingent in the parade. According to a report by IndiaTimes, the commander expressed hope that seeing the female officers march in front of the whole country will inspire more women to join the forces.

The woman who will be leading the contingent, is Captain Divya Ajith, the woman who five years ago, created history by becoming the first woman cadet in the history of the Army to win the 'Sword of Honour' for best cadet at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai in 2010, at the age of 20. She, however, is a multi-faceted personality. She is a Bharatanatyam dancer, percussionist and plays various sports including basketball and discus throw.

A PTI report stated the officer saying, "For me it's a matter of great pride to command an all-women contingent for the first time in the Republic Day parade. And, I think many of those parents who will be seeing us either at the Rajpath or on television, will feel inspired to send their girls to the Army and many of those girls would themselves be motivated to don the uniform," according to IndiaTimes.

She added, "The entire contingent is also excited about marching in front of US President Barack Obama, who will be the chief guest on the occasion…We also marched for the first time on Army Day this year and we are all excited about the R-Day now." She also said that it is an honour for her to lead the march, in front of the country.

This prestigious event, however, has not been a cakewalk for the women as Captain Ajith revealed in the IndiaTimes report. "From 6-9 AM in the morning and then 3-6 PM in the evening, all seven days, it's been a tough regimen but our training at the OTA is coming in handy. Also, since we are marching here for the first time, we are training doubly harder vis-a-vis our male counterparts," she said.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: IndiaTimes

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