MinkuKumari on
Thursday wore a light make up, applied a light shade on lips and had
neatly-plucked eyebrows for the day. It was a memorable day for her as
she got ready in khaki trouser and shirt, cap, white gloves, ankle boots
and a self-loading rifle (SLR). Minku, from Belaganj in Gaya district, is one of the 580 members of Bihar Military Police's first woman battalion.
At Gandhi Maidan, there was an impressive
and colourful passing out parade of the battalion, divided into 19
platoons, in the backdrop of the music played by the brass band. Chief
minister Nitish Kumar,
who had conceived the idea of an all-woman battalion six years ago, was
there to take the salute and wish the trained personnel. He said, "It
is a solid step towards women empowerment, particularly at a time when
there is a real concern over women's security all over the country."
Like Minku, who did MSc in zoology from Magadh University,
there are 44 among the 580 who are postgraduate, while 230 are
graduates. Instead of pursuing any other profession, they preferred to
don khaki and carry weapon. "I wanted to serve the society and the
nation and to show that girls should not lag behind boys. Now in this
service, I am ready to go anywhere I am asked to," said Minku, whose
husband Ritesh Kumar is in Army and posted in Bareilly. "He gave me liberty to choose any career," she said.
Priyanka Bharti of Hilsa in Nalanda district said she wanted a career
in police since childhood and her parents supported her. A graduate from
Hilsa College,
she said she ignored adverse comments of people. Her mother Shyamwati
Devi and father Suresh Pandey, a teacher in girls school, said that
relatives and friends did not favour her joining the force but "we
always supported her."
The women underwent 14-month-long
rigorous training at Sasaram and then arms training at Begusarai. "This
is the first time that an all-woman battalion has been raised and they
are ready to take up responsibilities, including law and order and
anti-Naxal operations," said DGP Abhyanand.
"It is a pride
moment for the BMP," said ADG, BMP, Abhay Kumar Upadhyaya. He said the
state cabinet had approved formation of this battalion in 2006 and
recruitment was made in 2011. Then they were sent for training to BMP
camps at Sasaram, Dehri, Katihar and Begusarai, where they were trained
by commandants.
Impressed with the attractive parade, Nitish
said the role of women in police force has widened with the opening of
women police stations in each district. He was also impressed with the
educational qualification of the women and advised the DGP to utilize
their educational and mental ability too, adding he would welcome any
proposal to this effect from the police headquarters.
The CM
took this opportunity to say that he had introduced training of judo and
karate for girl students in schools, and over a lakh girls had already
been given training.
source; TOI
No comments:
Post a Comment