- Thursday, May 08, 2025
The decision to have the two officers, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, conveys a powerful message of women power, unity, and communal harmony
By: India Weekly
THE PRESENCE of two women military officers, along with foreign secretary Vikram Misri, at the press briefing on Operation Sindoor in New Delhi on Wednesday (7) has created a flutter on social media.
The decision to have the two officers, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, is being seen as symbolic at many levels.
It underscores India’s resolve to combat terrorism, paying tribute to the widows of those killed in Pahalgam, and conveying a powerful message of unity and communal harmony.
While Misri delivered the opening statement from the government on ‘Operation Sindoor’, the two women officers then shared details about the sites hit by the Indian forces.
The missile strikes were carried out early Wednesday (7) in response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives on April 22.
Colonel Qureshi, an officer from the Corps of Signals, spoke in Hindi while IAF helicopter pilot Singh shared the details in English, complementing each other.
Hailing from a family of soldiers, Qureshi imbibed the spirit of serving the nation from an early age.
In a panel discussion hosted in 2017, Qureshi shared about her journey into the armed forces and what inspired her to don the olive-green uniform.
“Being a ‘Fauji’ kid, I was exposed to the army environment. My mother wanted either of us two sisters to join the Army. I applied for it and got it. My grandfather was also in the Army, and he used to say, ‘It is our responsibility, as every citizen, to be alert and stand up for our country and defend the nation. ‘ It is a dignified and honourable job,” she had recalled.
She also said that when she “joined the academy, the Kargil war was going on”.
The officer also led an army training contingent at a multinational field training exercise in 2016.
“1st woman officer to lead an Army training contingent at Force18 – #ASEAN Plus multinational field training exercise in 2016. She was the only Woman Officers Contingent Commander among all #ASEAN Plus contingents. #WomensDay #IWD2020 #EachforEqual #SheInspiresUs,” the Ministry of Defence had said in a Women’s Day post on X, sharing a photograph of Qureshi.
Wing Commander Vyomika Singh is an accomplished helicopter pilot who has flown a variety of aircraft and taken part in rescue operations in extreme conditions to evacuate civilians.
Vyomika, who’s married to an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot, had shared how her name, perhaps, carried her destiny to become a pilot during a panel discussion hosted by a private channel in 2023.
“I was in Class 6 when the Eureka moment happened – I realised that I wanted to be a pilot and own the sky. We were having a discussion in class on the meaning of names. Somebody shouted, ‘You are Vyomika, which means you own the sky’. Since that day, I have wanted to be a pilot. This was in the early 1990s,” Vyomika recalled during the panel discussion.
During the interaction that hailed the spirit of ‘Nari Shakti’, she also shared her journey into the IAF and how she earned her wings.
From dreaming of being a pilot to logging over 2,500 flying hours, Vyomika has operated several helicopters across some of the country’s most challenging terrains, from the high-altitude sectors in Jammu and Kashmir to the remote areas in the Northeast.
In 2020, she led a rescue operation in Arunachal Pradesh, flying in extreme conditions to evacuate civilians. (Agencies)
