CRPF women cadets credit men for their success

Coimbatore: It is common that women are credited for the success of their men. But these two newly-inducted Central Reserve Police Force subordinate officers who have been adjudged best among the 100 trainees in Coimbatore said, it was the men in their families who supported and helped them enter the force.

"My father is a home guard and is into real estate business. He had been telling me since my childhood that I should join the Army or any para-military force. I have achieved this today only because of his support," said 22-year-old Swarnima Singh who got the award for the best shot and best in indoor training. She was among the seven women trainees who passed out on Wednesday from the CRPF central training school here. But the number of women recruits has been showing a downward trend as last year there were13 women trainees passed out.

"My father always wanted me to be in uniform. In college, I had joined National Cadet Corps (NCC) and that gave me an opportunity to interact with many Army officers. Inspired by them I applied for Army and later I tried in the CRPF," she said.

For 26-year-old Puja Mishra, it was her younger brother who encouraged her to join the forces. "My father expired 17 years ago and my mother works for an electrical company in Kolkata. My brother is extremely interested in Army and forced me to apply. Whatever I am today, it is because of his encouragement," said Puja. Talking about the declining number of women recruits in CRPF and the difficult conditions that they would face on the field, she said, "The training helps us to be stronger mentally and physically. When we joined, we were just civilians. But now, we have a different mind-set," she said.

The director general, CRPF, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar said, they were planning to increase the number of women cadets in the force. "This year, we have a new battalion of 240 ladies in Bastar and we are taking efforts to increase more lady officers.