17 STRIDE TO THE FUTURE

AS THE NATIONAL DEFENCE ACADEMY BUILDS A NARRATIVE OF SOCIETAL CHANGE BY BREAKING ENTRENCHED GENDER NORMS, HERE IS HOW IT PREPARED A HISTORIC BATCH OF WOMEN CADETS FOR A LIFE IN THE ARMED FORCES

- BY POOJA BIRAIA/Khadakwasla

They arrived not with fanfare, but with grit stitched quietly into their hearts. On a platform at Pune railway station, 19 girls in civilian attire assembled after stepping off long-distance trains—duffel bags in hand, nerves tight and eyes wide with the anticipation of history,” wrote Major General Sanjeev Dogra (retd), who was deputy commandant and chief instructor at the National Defence Academy from November 2021 to June 2024. The piece, titled ‘When they marched in: A chronicle of NDA’s First Daughters’, commemorates the arrival of the first batch of women cadets at the tri-service academy in July 2022.

On arriving at the NDA in Pune’s Khadakwasla, the women cadets were assigned to the Romeo Squadron (squadron names are in alphabetic order, starting with Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta; Romeo is the 18th squadron). “Enhanced lighting, secure fencing, designated lady duty officers and minor layout changes were not signs of separation; they were signs of a thoughtful institution preparing its daughters for battle, not merely hosting them,” wrote Maj Gen Dogra. “Behind the scenes, months of preparation went in, security protocols were redefined, a new code of conduct evolved and traditions long steeped in male-only legacy were modernised without losing their essence. From day one, the message was clear: The academy was not making exceptions. It was making history.”