The New Indian Express ·
Stanzin, first female officer from remote Ladakh mountains, among 342 inducted into Army
CHENNAI: Twenty-four-year-old Stanzin Tsangyang travelled from the remote mountains of Zanskar to Chennai to begin a journey that none in her home district had undertaken before. On Saturday, she became the first officer from Zanskar district in Ladakh to be commissioned into the Indian Army.
Her parents, Tundup Tsering, a teacher and Rigzin Ladol, travelled from Ladakh to witness the passing-out parade at the Officers Training Academy. Dressed in traditional attire, they stood proudly alongside their daughter and relatives after the ceremony. “There was no one in our district to guide us,” Stanzin rued, pointing to the lack of an established pathway for young people in the region aspiring to become officers.
“This is our first time in Chennai, and it is all because of our daughter. I am proud she is contributing to the nation,” her father said. Stanzin left home at a young age to study at Lamdon Model School in Leh, spending nearly 14 years in a hostel. Her academic performance lead her to Tezpur University in Assam, where she studied mechanical engineering.
It was at the university that she joined the National Cadet Corps. “I came to know through the NCC that I could join the Army as an officer,” she said.
The transition from a girl in a remote Himalayan district to a cadet undergoing military training in Chennai was demanding. “The road was filled with challenges, sacrifices and moments of doubt, and the resilience instilled by the mountains kept me moving forward,” she said.
For Lieutenant Shivam Ahlawat, Saturday’s commissioning represented something different: the continuation of a military legacy spanning five generations and more than 140 years. Joining Skinner’s Horse, he follows relatives who served in conflicts ranging from the battlefields of France and Flanders to China, Italy, Goa, Kargil and counter-insurgency operations in northeast India. The family hopes its extraordinary record, spanning two World Wars, Independence and several major military operations, will eventually be recognised by the Guinness World Records.
For Ritika Dubey of Gorakhpur, meanwhile, the feat is personal. She is the first member of her family to pursue a career in the armed forces. Among those in Tamil Nadu, it was 22-year-old MR Ruswanth from Theni district who donned his olive green, as 25 members of his family visited OTA parade ground.
The latest batch at the Officers Training Academy included 313 men and 29 women, commissioned into various services.
Seventeen cadets from friendly foreign countries — seven men and 10 women from Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Bhutan, and Lesotho — also completed their training.
The parade was reviewed by Chief of Naval staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan.